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Marion Mahony Griffin and Armstrong School

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A woman admires the “Fairies and Woodland Scenes” mural at George B. Armstrong School for International Studies in Chicago’s West Rogers Park. [Rachel Freundt/Chicago Patterns]

“Behind every great man there is a great woman” might just be the perfect expression to use for someone like Marion Mahony Griffin. Although the second female graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) in 1894 and one of the first female licensed architects in the United States, Mahony Griffin was completely overshadowed by the men in her life. As Frank Lloyd Wright’s first employee in 1895, she worked as senior designer and lead draftsman until Wright closed down his Oak Park architectural studio in 1909.

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Rosehill Cemetery

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Andi Marie/Chicago Patterns

Andi Marie/Chicago Patterns

Located at 5800 N. Ravenswood Avenue on what was originally Hiram Roe’s Farm is Chicago’s largest cemetery. The City of Chicago had been after Hiram’s farmland for a long time, but he refused to sell unless the city promised to build a cemetery and name it after him. They agreed, but city clerks misspelled the name and the result was Rosehill Cemetery instead of Roe’s Hill Cemetery. I believe there was some underhandedness taking place back in 1864.

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