Mahony was born in 1871 in Chicago , Illinois , to Jeremiah Mahony , a journalist , poet , and teacher from Cork , Ireland , and Clara Hamilton , a schoolteacher . Her family moved to nearby Winnetka in 1880 after the Great Chicago Fire . In her memoir , Mahoney vividly describes her mother carrying her as an infant in a clothes basket , as they escape from the fire . Growing up in Winnetka , she became fascinated by the quickly disappearing landscape as suburban homes filled the area . She was influenced by her first cousin , architect Dwight Perkins , and decided to further her education . She graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( M.I.T. ) in 1894 . She was the second woman to do so , after Sophia Hayden , the designer of the Woman 's building at the 1893 Chicago World 's Columbian Exposition . Though highly talented , she sometimes struggled with her place in both society and the field . She was unsure of her ability to complete the thesis required for her bachelor 's degree , but her professor , Constant-Désiré Despradelle , pushed her forward
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Marion Mahony Griffin