Background
Coit was born in Winchester, Massachusetts in 1892.
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Elisabeth Coit
Edit ProfileEducation
She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1911, attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and received her Bachelor of Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1919.
Career
After graduation, she worked as a drafter and designer at the office of Grosvenor Atterbury until 1929. She then opened her own firm in New York City, which designed houses mainly for women outside of the city and for businesses in the state. She ran the firm until 1942.
In 1941 she published "Design and Construction of the Dwelling Unit for the Low-Income Family," which was a study about low-income housing in the United States.
From 1942 - 1947 she also was the technical standards editor for the United States Housing Authority"s Public Housing Design in Washington, District of Columbia, followed by a research position at Mayer and Whittersley from 1947 - 1948. She retired in 1962, as the principal planner for the New York City Housing Authority.
Even in retirement she continued to serve as an adviser for government and private housing organizations. In 1973, she was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate Academician.
Coit contributed to numerous pamphlets about housing, was a book reviewer for the Architectural Record, and was the editor for the New York Metropolitan Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.
She is a fellow for American Institute of Architects, and has also been awarded as a pioneer of architecture for the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Some of her buildings include:
Anna B. Van Nort House, Croton Heights, New York (1932)
Cafeteria, Consumer"s Cooperative Service, Incorporated., 136 East. 44th Saint, New York City (ca 1939). Philip Maguire House, Shrub Oaks, New York (ca 1940)
Winslow Sommaripa House, Boyce, Virginia. (not dated)
Some of her writings include:
"Housing from Tenant"s Viewpoint." Architectural Record 91 (April 1942): 71-84.
Achievements
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Born
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Died
1987 (aged 90) -
Nationality
United States