Willis Leenhouts (b. 1902) and Lillian Scott (b. 1911) met in 1936, when Lillian, newly
graduated from the University of Michigan School of Architecture, came to work as a
draftsman in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin architectural office of Harry Bogner, where Willis was
already employed as an architect. During World War II, Lillian and Willis went into defense
work until Willis was drafted into the Army. Upon his release, both worked for Fairchild
Aircraft in Hagerstown, Maryland, where they were married in 1943. The two began their
professional partnership in 1945 in Milwaukee where they found ample work, thanks to the
postwar demand for housing.
Throughout their career, the Leenhoutses designed apartment buildings, libraries (including
one in Madras, India) and churches, and made additions and remodeling plans for many
buildings. Most of their projects were in the Milwaukee area, and most were residential
buildings. Two urban renewal projects deserve mention for their proposed use of green space.
One was the Walnut Area Improvement Council (W.A.I.C.O.) development projected for an area
around 17th and Chambers Streets. The other was the Park East Corridor Park Freeway. Both
plans made use of common green areas between clustered housing in a way that was uncommon
when the Leenhouts worked on them; neither were built. Another significant project was the
fourteen-story Zonta Manor Apartments, Wisconsin's first non-public, non-profit housing
facility for seniors.
Lillian Leenhouts' career was especially distinguished. From 1929 to 1932, she studied at
the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee, where she discovered the work of Frank Lloyd Wright.
She graduated from the University of Michigan School of Architecture in 1936, returning to
Milwaukee and working in the architectural office of Harry Bogner, president of the
Milwaukee Art Institute. Lillian had the distinction of becoming Wisconsin's first licensed
female architect in 1942, and she helped to form the Milwaukee chapter of the Society of
Women Engineers in 1973. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and
Urban Planning awarded her an honorary doctorate in May 1989. In 1990, the School
established a financial scholarship in Willis and Lillian Leenhouts' name. The Leenhoutses
were inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.)
in 1975, marking the first time in the A.I.A.'s history that a husband and wife earned a
fellowship together. Lillian Leenhouts died on February 22, 1990, and Willis Leenhouts on
February 13, 1992.
