Female architects are ubiquitous in 2023, but when did they break into the once male-dominated industry? The Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania offers an answer with its upcoming exhibition on the life of Minerva Parker Nichols, America’s first independent female architect. Although a prolific creator throughout her life (1862–1949), Parker Nichols has been almost entirely forgotten. Her story uncovers a fascinating culture of women’s autonomy during the suffrage movement: she not only designed properties for families and local clubs, but for other independent modern women. Despite minimal archival material, a decade of research by the architectural historian and preservationist Molly Lester has uncovered a lifetime of work that encapsulates women’s liberation at the height of the battle for gender equality. —Lucy Horowitz