Fleming, Beula

Beula Nixon Fleming was born on January 30, 1904 in Jicarilla, New Mexico. She was delivered in a tent, not far from the school where her mother was a teacher. Her grandfather was a buffalo hunter in Dodge City. After moving to Albuquerque in 1929, Fleming enrolled in the International Correspondence School to study architectural design, where she excelled in geometric drawing and calculations.

Working out of her home at 3000 Monterey SE in Albuquerque, Fleming made a successful living as an independent designer and draftsman, 1938-1969. She also worked in association with at least two other architects, Owasa J. Jennings and E. H. Norris. Most of the buildings designed by Fleming were either single or multiple family residences in Albuquerque. She also designed some dwellings in Socorro, Mountainair and surrounding New Mexico communities. Her Albuquerque designs are located in such prominent neighborhoods as Ridgecrest, Huning Highlands, Nob Hill, and University Heights.

Fleming's simple residential designs took hold during the 1930's and 1940's, when Albuquerque's economy was booming. Her straightforward stucco frame houses exemplified both regional and efficient features for the times. One of Fleming's more romantic and rustic designs is the "rock house" located at the corner of Marquette NE and Monte Vista NE. It features a steep pitched roof with gabled windows and rock facade.

Fleming had one daughter and two sons with her husband Joseph Jefferson Fleming, Sr., who was also an architectural draftsman. Her first marriage ended with the death of her husband and she later married Joseph A. Dunham.

Beula Fleming died on March 10, 1980, at the age of 76. She carries the distinction of being the first female designer whose work is documented in the John Gaw Meem Archives of Southwestern Architecture. Her contributions to the architecture of Albuquerque's early neighborhoods left a rare legacy for a professional woman of the early twentieth century.

From the guide to the Beula Fleming Job Files, 1924-1968, (Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico.)