Eleanore Pettersen

Eleanore Kendall Pettersen (1916 – January 15, 2003) was an American architect. She was one of the first licensed female architects in New Jersey, where she operated a private practice from 1952 to 2002.

Early life and education Pettersen was born in 1916 in Passaic, New Jersey. She studied architecture at Cooper Union in New York City, completing her certificate in 1941. She returned to Cooper Union in 1976 to finish her Bachelor of Architecture.

Career In 1950, Pettersen became one of the first women in New Jersey to be licensed as an architect. She began her career as a draftsman for, and later an apprentice to, Frank Lloyd Wright, working in Arizona and Wisconsin at Taliesin; She lived in Tennessee from 1946 to 1950, during which time she designed power buildings and facilities for the Tennessee Valley Authority. During those 50 years, she designed more than 600 projects, both residential and commercial.

Pettersen was primarily a residential architect. She became the first female president of the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) New Jersey chapter in 1985

She received several awards, including: 1965: Professional Achievement Citation – Cooper Union Augustus Saint-Gaudens Award for Architecture - Cooper Union She was included in "A Girl is a Fellow Here" ~ 100 Women in the Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright , a documentary film produced by the Beverly Willis Architectural Foundation.