Architect Eleanor Larrabee Dies In New York at 74

Eleanor Doermann Larrabee '43, an architect and designer of university libraries, died Saturday in New York City. She was 74.

After graduating cum laude from Radcliffe, Larrabee was one of the first women admitted to the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), her brother, John H. Doermann '47, said yesterday from his home in Salem, Mass. Yesterday, however, the GSD said it did not have a record of her enrollment.

Larrabee died two weeks after being struck by a car near her home at West 20th Street in Manhattan, her family said. She was unconscious from the time of the accident until her death at St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center.

In a period when women were only beginning to enter the field of architecture, Larrabee made large inroads into a profession dominated by men.

"At the time she was doing it, it was a very hard career," her brother said. "I don't think the obstacles are the same now as they used to be, but I think it was very tough when she did it."

Doermann said his sister suffered "considerable discrimination" in the field but was able to surmount gender bias because of her tremendous self-discipline.

Larrabee transferred from the GSD to Columbia University's architecture school, where she earned a master's degree.

In 1955 she joined a New York architecture firm run by Charles H. Warner Jr., her brother said. In 1963, Larrabee was named an associate at WBTL Architects in Manhattan.

Larrabee focused on the construction of college libraries. Among her projects was a reconstruction of the New Jersey College for Women, now part of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick.

Larrabee also served for about 10 years as a trustee of Barnard College, her brother said. She retired in 1992.

At Radcliffe, Larrabee was active in campus affairs. She was elected in her junior year to Phi Beta Kappa. A resident of Cabot Hall in the Radcliffe Quad, Larrabee became president of the board of hall presidents, a group that comprised the leaders of all the women's residence halls, her brother said.

Larrabee's husband, Eric Larrabee '43, died in December 1990. She is survived by her brother, John Doermann, and another brother, Humphrey Doermann '52, of St. Paul, Minn

Larrabee's husband, Eric Larrabee '43, died in December 1990. She is survived by her brother, John Doermann, and another brother, Humphrey Doermann '52, of St. Paul, Minn