Architect Chloethiel Woodard Smith, FAIA, was an influential midcentury modernist based in Washington, D.C. She developed a plan in 1952 for the redevelopment of Washington’s Southwest quadrant with Louis Justement. She completed several projects in the redevelopment, including Capitol Park, Harbour Square, and Waterside Mall, and developed a proposal for a bridge with shops and restaurants spanning Washington Channel inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy. She also designed the Waterview townhouses in the planned community of Reston, Virginia. Her office projects in the District included the Blake Building and 1100 Connecticut Avenue; overseas, she designed the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay and developed a master plan for Quito, Ecuador. Early in her career, Smith worked for the Federal Housing Authority and in the 1940s for Berla & Abel. She formed Keyes, Smith & Satterlee in 1950, and from 1963 to 1983 she practiced in her own firm, Chloethiel Woodard Smith & Associates. Smith was a founding trustee of the National Building Museum and served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Kennedy Center, President’s Council on Pennsylvania Avenue, National Commission on Urban Problems, and Committee of 100 on the Federal City. Smith earned her undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Oregon in 1932 and a master’s degree in architecture from Washington University in St. Louis in 1933. She was a professor of architecture at the University de San Andres in La Paz, Bolivia, from 1942 to 1944. She was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 1944 and was awarded the Centennial Award of the D.C. chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1987.
CFA Service:
1967–1976