Katherine Stinson Otero: Aviator, Builder, Designer
Katherine Stinson Otero (1891 – 1977) had two careers, the first in aviation and next in design and construction. Born in Alabama, Stinson traveled to Chicago to find someone willing to teach her to fly. In 1912, she became the fourth woman to earn a pilot’s license, and by 1913 Stinson was performing as a stunt pilot. Among many firsts, Stinson was the first woman to fly at night, to deliver air mail, and to fly in Japan and China. Stinson kept her plane well-maintained, learning about its mechanics in the process. With her mother Emma Stinson, in 1913 she founded the Stinson Aviation Company in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The company built, sold, and rented aircraft.
Stinson repeatedly offered to fly as a pilot in the first World War but the military, short on pilots though it was, turned her away owing to her gender. Instead, Stinson participated in fund-raising flights promoting Red Cross Liberty Bonds, securing about $2 million in pledges. In 1918 she left for France where she volunteered as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross. In 1920 after becoming very ill with tuberculosis, Stinson was treated in a sanatorium in Santa Fe, New Mexico. While there, she met fellow patient John Gaw Meem, a civil engineer who would become one of New Mexico’s most important architects. She also met her future husband as well as other patients and a doctor for whom she would later design homes.
The Gay-Wagner House, 1929 (photo by Luci Osaki, 2023)
Stinson apparently remained in poor health for several years, returning frequently to the sanatorium to recover. In 1925, she created a business plan for the purchase and development of a Santa Fe property that would become known as Plaza Chamisal. Her friend Olivia James purchased the property and Stinson remodeled and rented the existing homes in the complex. By 1927, Stinson was working as a building manager, realtor, and contractor. She renovated and furnished many of the properties she managed.
House designed for Dr. Frank Mera, c. 1938 - 1940 (photo by Luci Osaki, 2023)
In 1927, Stinson married politician and former war aviator Miguel Otero. Stinson Otero continued her property management and contracting work, sometimes serving as the contractor for projects John Gaw Meem designed. In 1928, Stinson Otero designed a house in the Plaza Chamisal complex for herself and her husband. They lived there for the rest of their lives. Architect and decorator Mary E. J. Colter became their neighbor in 1952 when she retired from Fred Harvey.
Stinson Otero added design to her property management and contracting work and went on to design other Santa Fe homes in the Santa Fe style, employing thick adobe walls and, sometimes, components scavenged from older buildings. Since she was not trained as an architect, Stinson Otero’s means of communicating her design intent to the builders was unconventional for the profession. Instead of drawing plans, she walked the site with the workers as the work progressed, indicating where walls should be placed.
Stinson Otero became ill in 1961 and fell into a coma in 1962. She died in 1977. After serving as a pall bearer at her burial service, architect John Gaw Meem wrote in a eulogy that his friend and collaborator had been “one of Santa Fe’s great residential builders and designers.”
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Sources:
Lori Ann Overly Burrup, “Katherine Stinson Otero: A Brief Biography.” Master thesis, University of New Mexico, 2008.
Pat Reed, "Pueblo Revival Style was near to Aviatrix's Heart," The Santa Fe New Mexican, March 4, 2002, A6.
Dee Wedemeyer, “Katherine Otero, 86, Dies; Pioneer Aviator and Stunt Flier,” New York Times, July 11, 1977.
Arnold Berke, Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002.
Agnesa Lufkin, “The Gay-Wagner House: Hand-made Space,” New Mexico Architecture, July-August 1978: 10 – 14, 18.
Eulogy by John Gaw Meem for Katherine Stinson Otero, July 18, 1977. John Gaw Meem Collection, MSS 675 BS, Box 14, Folder 13, CSWR, University of New Mexico.