05/15/2026
Did you know that several of Kingsborough's buildings were designed by not only a female architect (uncommon for the 1960s), but by a woman who was in the FIRST group (1932) of Taliesin fellows under Frank Lloyd Wright? Elizabeth Read Weber, who went by Read Weber, was born in Wilmette, Illinois in 1907 (some sources say 1908, but other evidence suggests 1907). After graduating from the University of Chicago she worked for the architect Charles Morgan, whose office was above the studio of famed American architect Louis H. Sullivan. There she reportedly met both Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, and Wright would later invite her to join the first cadre of fellows (1932-1933) at Taliesin, his architectural "guild" where students lived, worked, and assisted Wright in his designs. In 1946 she co-founded the architectural firm Katz, Waisman, and Weber, where she served as the main designer. The firm had expanded to Katz, Waisman, Blumenkranz, Stein, and Weber when it was hired to create the first buildings for Kingsborough Community College; she is given credit as designing The Administration (A) Building, the "College/Center Hall," and Kibbee Library. While more research will need to be done, it would be great if Kingsborough acknowledged the work of this pioneering architect. Here's to Read Weber!
