Norma Merrick Sklarek Engineers Her Success _ History Honors 250

Norma Merrick Sklarick, the first black woman in the country to become a licensed architect. She helped build iconic structures across the world. But before she became a trailblazer in architecture, she had to get her foot in the door. History honors 250. A New York City native, Sklarick was one of only two women in her class to earn an architecture degree from Columbia University. But she initially had trouble finding work. 19 firms rejected her before she landed a job as a junior draftsperson for the New York City Department of Public Works. Over the next decade, she climbed the ladder, eventually leading projects at major firms in California and founding what would become one of the largest women-owned firms in the U.S. From the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, to Los Angeles International Airport's Terminal 1, to the Mall of America in Minnesota, Norma Merrick Sklarick solidified her place in architecture history.