Mariah Love

(1840-1931)

Not all who shaped the City were architects, although the Encyclopedia of Social Work does refer to Ms. Love, founder of the first day care for the young children of working mothers in the United States, as a “social architect.”  By opening the Fitch Creche in 1881 at the corner of Michigan and Swan Streets downtown, she shaped the way poor women and their children were allowed to live in the City, providing opportunities for work and professional care.  In addition to her work at the Creche, Ms. Love changed the way philanthropy was practiced in Buffalo and the United States, by adopting and advocating the “London Method,” where charitable organizations moved away from direct relief to the poor to funding services designed to assist people in moving away from needing financial assistance.