Elizabeth Evans Rivard

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1899, but raised in Lawrence, Kansas, Elizabeth Evans Rivard initially attended the University of Kansas for general studies. During World War I, she gained employment with the drafting department of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad in Parsons, Kansas, and, in preparation for the work she would be doing there, enrolled in a short drafting course.

Due to the praise she received while working in the drafting department, she applied for admittance to the University of Kansas’ architecture program and was admitted as the first woman in the program, despite the head of the department doubting her abilities. Initially intimidated by the fact that she lacked many of the critical introductory courses, Evans eventually overcame the challenge of starting out behind her classmates and excelled throughout her studies. While in school, she was encouraged to compete in design competitions, though advised to conceal the fact that she was a woman. In 1922, she graduated as the first female student from the school, and with honors. 

In 1923, Evans moved back to Kansas City, Missouri, and accepted a position with the architecture firm R. L. Falkenberg & Co., who thought a woman’s insight and ability to work with female clients would be an asset. While there, Evans specialized in designing moderately sized houses for young families and first-time home buyers. She was commissioned to design more than 200 houses over the course of her ten year career. Many of Rivard's homes were done in the characteristic styles of Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival, and are still located in Mission Hills and Westwood Hills in Kansas, in the Country Club District and on Paseo Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri.

In 1933, Rivard retired to start a family and lived in Kansas City until her death in 1988.