In an era when too much attention is paid by the media to the mindless antics of young women like Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears, our society needs to shift its focus to women of substance, character, and accomplishment. American women of all ages, and especially younger ones, need role models who can inspire them to overcome prejudice and stereotypes, and achieve their highest potential through intelligence, determination, and hard work. These are the qualities exemplified by Julia Morgan's distinguished career as America's first independent woman architect, and which I intended to convey in my new book "Julia Morgan: Architect of Beauty", released in October, 2007, by Gibbs-Smith Publishing. A number of major events celebrating the career of Julia Morgan and the publication of this book will be held over the next several months, and these will be listed at the end of this article. This book is the first comprehensive look at Julia Morgan's life and work in nearly 20 years. Besides incorporating my own thirty years of research about Julia Morgan, I was fortunate to have unprecedented access to her office records through her goddaughter, Lynn Forney McMurray. Lynn's mother Lillian was Julia Morgan's secretary for 35 years, and she inherited Julia's office records when Morgan closed her office in 1950. These included blueprints, drawings, letters, and billing records for most of the 750 structures that Julia Morgan completed during her 44-year career as a practicing architect. Lynn and I have been friends for over 25 years, and I asked her to write her personal recollections of Julia Morgan as a forward to my book, since she is one of the very few people alive today who knew Julia intimately.

Julia Morgan: An Architect of Beauty Now Available at Amazon.com! Photography by Monica Lee and Joel Puliatti.

1. This book dispels the long-held myth that Julia Morgan destroyed her blueprints and office records when she closed her office. In fact, she only destroyed a handful of office documents, and most have ended up in university libraries, or are in the private collection of Lynn Forney McMurray.
   
2. There are 150 structures designed by Julia Morgan covered in this book, including her buildings in Hawaii, Utah, and Versailles, France. Of these sites, more than fifty have never been both photographed and described in any other book. Indeed, several of these buildings were listed as "not located" or "demolished" in previous books.
   
3. This book documents for the first time that Julia Morgan's total output of completed structures was greater than any other major American architect, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, and Bernard Maybeck.
   
4. This book establishes the fact that Julia Morgan was America's first truly independent licensed woman architect; (i.e., who did not collaborate with a male colleague to establish a full-time practice).
   
5. There are over 300 photographs and drawings in this book; nearly 260 in color, and 50 in black-and-white. Many of the drawings and blueprints have never been published before, including line drawings and elevations by Julia Morgan from her student days in Paris. Most of the archival photos have never been seen in print before, including William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies relaxing at his estate at Wyntoon, the 1901 ground-breaking ceremony at Wyntoon, and over a dozen early 20th. century photos of some of Julia Morgan's most distinguished residences. The color photographs of her buildings include views of Hearst Castle never before published, as well as superb interior and exterior shots of nearly 140 Julia Morgan structures by the two talented professional photographers I worked with; Monica Lee and Joel Puliatti.
   
6. This book firmly establishes Julia Morgan's reputation as an innovative architect who was in the forefront of the revolutionary new design movement that came to be known as the First Bay Tradition. Many critics in the past dismissed Morgan's body of work as "unoriginal" and "derivative", but in the chapter titled "Roots of a Revolution" and in the descriptions of some of her early First Bay Tradition work, I have demonstrated that she was a central figure in the development of this nature-based, environmentally- sensitive movement, and one of its leading practitioners.
   

You can contact the author on his voice mail, at (510) 273-9383, or via his email at: markw@aol.com

LECTURES AND BOOK SIGNING EVENTS FOR
"JULIA MORGAN:ARCHITECT OF BEAUTY"

1. Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland; October 20th., 7 to 10 PM.
   Tours of the complex and refreshments, followed by a slide lecture by the author about Julia Morgan's career, and a book signing. The book will be available for sale, cash or check only. To RSVP, call (510) 228-3207, or email to: "arodman@lifemarkgroup.com". http://www.lifemarkgroup.com/special_events.asp#
   
2. Builder's Book Source Bookstore, 1817 Fourth Street, Berkeley; November 2nd., 7 to 10 PM. Refreshments, followed by a slide lecture on Julia Morgan's work with questions and answers, and a book signing by the author. For more information, call 800-843-7051.
   
3. Oakland Association of Realtors, 1528 Webster Street, Oakland; Wednesday, December 5th, 2 to 4 PM. A lecture by the author about the research and marketing of historic buildings will be given, followed by questions and answers, and a book signing. The book will be available for sale, cash or check only. For more information, call (510) 836-3003, or email to: "maryann@oar.org".
   
4. Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association benefit, at the Seldon Williams Mansion, 2821 Claremont Boulevard, Berkeley; November 11th., 2 to 5 PM. A reception with refreshments, and an informal tour of the house, followed by a lecture by the author on "Julia Morgan's Unique Place in American Architecture", and a book signing. To RSVP, call (510) 841-2242, or email to: "baha@berkeleyheritage.com".
   
5. Art Deco Society of California benefit at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Avenue, Berkeley; November 16th., 7 to 10 PM. Informal tours of the building and a no-host bar, to be followed by a slide lecture by the author about Julia Morgan's career, and a book signing. The books will be available for sale, cash or check only. To RSVP, call (415) 982-3326, or go to their website at:"www.artdecosociety.com".
   
6. Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore, 2904 College Avenue, Berkeley, November 30th., 7 to 10 PM. A slide lecture by the author describing "Julia Morgan's Unique Place in American Architecture" will be followed by questions and answers, and a book signing.
   
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