L. Jane Hastings (1928-2024) grew up in West Seattle and began studying architecture at the University of Washington in 1946, the only woman in a class of 200. In 1953, Hastings became the eighth woman licensed as an architect in Washington State and went on to become the principal of Washington’s oldest woman-owned architecture firm in 1959. Hastings was also an influential member of the International Union of Women Architects (UIFA) in its formative years, and in 1975 she became the first woman president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Seattle Chapter.

In her 2023 memoir, Hastings wrote: “At times, I avoided telling people what I did because they did not believe me or would think I was involved with some type of an arts and crafts project. In the 1950s and ’60s, women just didn't’t design and build homes. But I did.”