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L. Jane Hastings, who died March 25 at age 96, designed a life of purpose as a child.
Growing up in West Seattle, she relentlessly set goals and set out to achieve them, defying the barriers and expectations of the times along the way: In 1937, at age 9, she knew— Know – She will become an architect.
From that point on, her carefully planned milestones fell like neatly aligned dominoes: By 1952, Hastings had achieved her first goal: She graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in architecture (while working to pay for her tuition ), she was the only woman in her class there. In 1953, she accomplished her second goal, becoming the eighth licensed female architect in Washington. Her third goal, a visit to Europe, took a brief detour when an official rejected her plan to serve as an architect for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because he was concerned about her working with men. (Hastings’ comeback, in which she may or may not have exclaimed, “Man, what do you think I’ve been doing?”) So she adjusts her course (but not her basic goal) and becomes the U.S. Entertainment Director of Aviation Foreign Forces.
Returning to Seattle, with decades of determination, resilience and talent, Hastings built his own architecture firm, The Hastings Group; a portfolio of over 500 award-winning projects, mostly located in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest ; a part-time teaching job at what was then Seattle Community College; a love marriage to Norman Johnston, a professor of architecture at the University of Wisconsin; and a global network of colleagues and influence.
She is a leader in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) at every level locally, nationally and internationally: the first female president of the Seattle chapter, the first female dean of the Academy of Fellows, the first recipient of the award from the Northwestern and Pacific Medal of Honor. In November 2023, she wrote her first book, The Woman in the Room: A Memoir. Local writers’ events are sold out, with waiting lists nearly as long as Hastings’ list of accomplishments.
Kate Krafft, who worked for Hastings and eventually co-edited the memoir, considers herself lucky to have met Hastings at SCC nearly 50 years ago when Krafft was contemplating her own Construction Career. “Her help, enthusiasm and fundamental kindness have definitely propelled my professional and personal development,” Kraft said. “She is a great role model – as an architect, a committed volunteer, a world traveler and adventurer, and a true friend. Plus, she’s really fun! “
Hastings died after a brief hospitalization, with family members from Seattle and Alaska by her side, and everyone who knew her as “Jane” was left dazed.
“Jane spent her life building things: innovative houses, incredible careers — and especially connections between people,” said Dennis Clifton, a former Seattle Times staffer and co-editor of Hastings’ memoir. (Denise Clifton) said. “She made a huge impact on those of us who were lucky enough to be part of her circle, and she will be deeply missed.”
Hastings’ architectural influence extended to UW’s Cunningham Hall, which she remodeled in the early 1980s (although not designed by her, but by Norman Johns of UW’s School of Built Environment Dayton and L. Jane Hastings Gallery is named after the couple); Boeing Field’s 1950s hangar and production facility; the award-winning 1991 Flaming Geyser Bridge, which she collaborated with sculptor George Tsutakawa and others A collaborative effort; and extensive archive of Seattle Times/AIA Home of the Month stories, including the unique home she designed to celebrate the Northwest. (To name a few: her Karrow House, which received an American Institute of Architects National Honor Award in 1971; the Laurelhurst house she shared with Johnston, Its emphasis on energy efficiency earned it the American Institute of Architects Seattle Honor Award in 1977; the Quam House was the 1968 Seattle Times/AIA Home of the Year.)
“Jane… followed her dream of becoming an architect and never hesitated to help others enter the industry,” Craft said. “Early in her career, she hosted gatherings of young women architects—just as architect Elizabeth Eyre had done when Jane was a student at the University of Washington. As a result, her legacy is a group of highly skilled women. Architect, and all the lovely homes she lovingly designed.”
In her memoir, Hastings recalled the various stumbling blocks she encountered on her path to purposefully constructing an admirably well-crafted life and how she nimbly overcame them: “Sometimes , I avoid telling people what I do because they don’t believe me or think I’m involved in some type of arts and crafts project,” she wrote. “In the 1950s and 1960s, women stopped designing and building houses. But I did.”
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