Women’s Building Remembered

On March 9, during the 26th annual Gender Studies Symposium, the College dedicated a new bronze plaque by the front door of the Frank Manor House, formerly known as the Women’s Building.

From 1923 to 1967, the Women’s Albany College League raised funds “to promote the welfare of Albany College” (which became Lewis & Clark College in 1942). In the early 1940s, the league donated assets and forgave loans to help trustees underwrite the gift-purchase of the Lloyd Frank estate, the future home of Lewis & Clark. In return, the board named the estate’s principal residence the Women’s Building, a name that was used throughout the 1940s.

Jean Ward, professor emerita of communication, spoke at a reception honoring the key role of the Women’s Albany College League. Ward’s research helped uncover the unsung history of the league and the building.

The event was cosponsored by the Gender Studies Symposium and the Albany Society, an honorary organization of alumni who graduated from Lewis & Clark 50 or more years ago.