A leader in the field of public housing and known as a “houser”, Catherine was born into an educated and prosperous family. Her grandparents were German immigrant farm families from Bavaria who settled in New Jersey. Her father, Jacob Bauer, was an innovative highway engineer for the state of New Jersey, and her mother Alberta Louise Krause encouraged her three children (Catherine, Elizabeth and Louis) to study and thrive, and all had fascinating careers. Catherine attended the prestigious all-girls school, Vail-Deane in Elizabeth, New Jersey, prior to attending Vassar College. After two years she decided to attend Cornell University to study architecture, but she found the curriculum did not suit her, so she returned to Vassar. In 1926, she graduated with degrees in Art History and Literature. After graduation she traveled to Europe to study European architecture, housing policy and city planning. While there she saw creative solutions to housing for the economically disadvantaged, which led to a life-long passion for public housing.
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