Julia Morgan studied in Paris in 1901. When she returned to the Bay Area, she worked for John Galen Howard, the UC Berkeley campus architect, and became the first woman in California to earn her architectural license. She opened an office in San Francisco in 1905.
The 1906 earthquake and fire launched her career. Many of her buildings survived the disaster because of her background in Civil Engineering and her use of reinforced concrete. Many of her buildings survived the disaster, while the rest of the city crumbled and burned.
Morgan designed buildings for Phoebe Hearst's family and friends, including the Bell Tower at Mills College. Morgan was not willing to continue accepting a lower wage from Howard simply because she was a woman, and applied for an architect's license in 1904, becoming the first female licensed architect in California.
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