Earlier this April BWAF traveled to Buffalo, NY, to attend the 66th Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH), one of the most successful to date. It marked a pilgrimage of sorts – as Buffalo was home to Louise Blanchard Bethune (1856-1913), who in 1888 became the first woman architect to join the American Institute of Architects (AIA). As a tribute, BWAF co-sponsored “Louise Bethune and the Lafayette Hotel,” an SAH walking tour of the recently rehabilitated landmark in the heart of downtown Buffalo.
Leading the tour were two Bethune boosters: Rocco Termini, the visionary developer of the property, and Kelly Hayes McAlonie, interim associate vice provost of the University of Buffalo’s Capital Planning Group and immediate past president of AIA New York State. Hayes McAlonie co-curated an exhibit about Bethune’s life and prolific career that opened in 2011 at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.
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