Marion I. Manley

Education

• University of Kansas (1914)
• University of Michigan (summer 1916)
• B.Arch, University of Illinois (1917)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (summer 1942)

Years of practice

Affiliations/Firms

• Jr. Draftsman, Walter C. DeGarmo & Martin L. Hampton (1917)
• Mayer and Manley partnership (1918-1920)
• Marion I. Manley architect, Coconut Grove, FL (1920, intermittently through 1950's)
• Designer, Phineas E. Paist (1929-1930)

Professional organizations

• Joined AIA in 1926
• Became AIA fellow in 1956

Major projects

• Scott House, Miami, FL
• University of Miami, FL
• Ring Theater (1951)
• Memorial Classroom Bldg. (1948-49)
• Conservation and Angling Building
• Baptist Student Center
• UMiami Student Club
• Veterans Housing and Apartment Building

Awards, honors and press

• Fourth woman Fellow of the AIA (1956)
• Her “memorial classroom” at the University of Miami was featured on the cover of Architectural Forum in July 1948.
• Gold Medal from the Florida Architectural Association (1973)
• O.E. Dooly Medal, Lowe Gallery, University of Miami (1952)

Location of architect’s archive

Related websites

Keywords

Biography

Early life and Education

Marion Isadore Manley was born in Junction City, KS in 1893 to parents Charles Haines Manley and Marion Isadore Jones Manley. Manley’s mother was a schoolteacher before having nine children, of which Manley was the youngest. Manley’s father was a teacher and banker, actively involving his family in the Universalist church. Manley’s maternal aunt, Amanda Jones, had patented oil burners and was an inspiration for Manley as a modern woman.

Manley attended the University of Kansas for three years before transferring to the University of Illinois’s School of Engineering. While attending the University of Illinois to complete her degree in architecture, Manley was the only woman among 11 architecture and engineering students. Manley passed away in 1984 at the age of 90.

Career in Architecture

Manley is often called the first woman architect of Miami. Her style followed the Mediterranean Revival, most noted in her modernist master planning and architecture for the University of Miami. She also explored tropical vernacular in the era following World War II.

Major Buildings and Projects

• Scott House, Miami, FL
• University of Miami, FL
• Ring Theater (1951)
• Memorial Classroom Bldg. (1948-49)
• Conservation and Angling Building
• Baptist Student Center
• UMiami Student Club
• Veterans Housing and Apartment Building

Press and Awards

• Fourth woman Fellow of the AIA (1956)
• Her “memorial classroom” at the University of Miami was featured on the cover of Architectural Forum in July 1948.
• Gold Medal from the Florida Architectural Association (1973)
• O.E. Dooly Medal, Lowe Gallery, University of Miami (1952)

Writings

About:

Lynn, Catherine, and Carie Penabad. Marion Manley: Miami’s First Woman Architect. Athens and London: University of Georgia Press, 2010.

Institutional Affiliations

• The University of Miami
• Fellow of the AIA
• Florida South AIA Chapter President (1940-42), Secretary (1939-1940)
• Florida Association of Architects Vice President (1947-49)
• Member, Dade County Coordinating and Planning Comission (1944-46)
• President, Coconut Grove Civic Association (1953)

Manley participated in the Mediterranean Revival and did modernist master planning and architecture for the University of Miami. She also explored tropical vernacular in the era following World War II.