WE ARE PLEASED TO BE OFFERING BOTH IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE OPTIONS FOR THIS EVENT! PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS TO JOIN EITHER VENUE.
This presentation will set Mesrobian’s early life, formal education, and architectural employment in the context of the late Ottoman Empire. His training and service to the empire, as municipal architect in the important eastern Mediterranean port city of Izmir and in the office of the palace architect in Istanbul, set him on a trajectory to become a leading figure in the upcoming generation of Ottoman architects and a successor to some of the most prominent architects working in the empire at that time.
Mesrobian’s promising future, however, was cut short by the extraordinary transformations of Ottoman society during the final years of the Empire. His graduation from the Imperial School of Fine Arts in 1908 came just as the “Young Turks” were seizing power from the sultan, bringing about political and social upheaval that would culminate in the founding of the Republic of Türkiye in 1923. These events and those of the First World War, in which Mesrobian was an Ottoman field officer, would upend his early career and compel him, as an ethnic minority Armenian, to practice his profession elsewhere. His pre-war experience and post-war position as chief designer in the office of a respected engineer building apartments in Allied-occupied Istanbul positioned him to enter and quickly assume a leading role in the architecture of Washington, DC, beginning in 1921.
About the Speaker
Caroline Mesrobian Hickman teaches American architectural history in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park. She holds a PhD in Art History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has contributed chapters and articles to publications including The Turkish Ambassador’s Residence and the Cultural History of Washington, DC (2013), Housing Washington (2010), Washington History, and the Hrant Dink Foundation series on Armenian studies. Her current book project, The Life and Architecture of Mihran Mesrobian, traces the career of that prominent architect in Ottoman Turkey and Washington, DC. She has successfully landmarked several of Mesrobian’s buildings and curated exhibitions on historic Washington architecture. In 2022 she curated the online exhibit “Frederick Law Olmsted: Landscapes for the Public Good” for the Washington-area Olmsted Network and Oak Spring Garden Foundation to mark the 200th anniversary of Olmsted’s birth.
IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE
The lecture will take place at The First Congregational United Church of Christ, Second Floor, 945 G Street NW, Washington, DC. Reservations are not required. $10.00 for Latrobe Chapter members, student members (full time) free with ID, $15.00 for non-members. Doors will open at 6:30 pm for socialization and refreshments; lecture will begin at 7:00 pm.
VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE
Virtual attendance is free but advance registration is required to participate. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the lecture. Virtual lecture will begin at 7:00 PM. Please note that this event will not be recorded.