African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945 [Hardcover]

Dreck Spurlock Wilson (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415929598 | ISBN-13: 978-0415929592 | Publication Date: January 12, 2004 | Edition: 1

African-American architects have been designing and building houses and public buildings since 1865. Although many of these structures survive today, the architects themselves are virtually unknown. This unique reference work brings their lives and work to light for the first time. Written by 100 experts ranging from architectural historians to archivists, this book contains 160 biographical, A-Z entries on African-American architects from the era of Emancipation to the end of World War II. Articles provide biographical facts about each architect, and commentary on his or her work. Practical and accessible, this reference is complemented by over 200 photographs and includes an appendix containing a list of buildings by geographic location and by architect.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This alphabetically arranged, 168-entry biographical dictionary contains articles from 250 to 4,000 words in length on African American architects practicing in the late nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth centuries. All articles are internally cross-referenced and extended by photographs of the architects and the buildings they designed. Using the definition of the word architect to mean a person who has created a design and presented it visually such that it could be constructed, the 100 contributors have profiled both licensed and unlicensed individuals. Examples include Julian Francis Able (1881-1950), who designed the Free Library of Philadelphia; William Wilson Cooke (1871-1949), who designed small-town post offices throughout the Midwest; and David Augustus Williston (1868-1962), one of the first African American landscape designers. Biographical entries include a building list for each architect, identifying the client and building name, the address of the building at the time it was built, and the year in which it was built. Also here are entries for nine architectural programs and eight so-called Negro Buildings designed for the most part by African American architects for one world's fair and seven southern regional fairs. The volume concludes with a general bibliography, an appendix listing buildings by state, and an accurate index.

The writing is generally clear and easy to read, though at times a little uneven. Most contributors are university or professionally affiliated, but some are relatives of the architects, and their articles tend to be less authoritative in tone. Despite this, there is nothing else comparable on the market, making African American Architects a sound purchase, especially for college and university libraries with architecture programs, though it is also intended for preservationists, architects, and historians. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

A gold mine for anyone interested in architecture or African American architects... Easy to use and containing scholarly information, this work will benefit general readers through architectural historians. Highly recommended. All libraries. -- Choice
There is nothing else comparable on the market... A sound purchase, especially for college and university libraries with architectural programs, though it's also intended for preservationists, architects, and historians. -- Booklist/RBB
an essential reference... The introduction offers a useful historical context for the contributions of African Americans to the built environment of the United States. -- College & Research Libraries
Recent scholarly concerns about the gaps and limitations of such a narrative have literally reshaped the study of architectural history. African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945 is a major force to continue that reshaping, giving much needed presence to a large but essentially invisible group of designers, to innumerable but largely unknown buildings across the land, and to an awesome force of educational initiative, community spirit, and pride... the most comprehensive dictionary of these architects to date... the stories in the dictionary are captivating. -- CRM: The Journal of Heritage Stewardship
The dictionary makes a significant contribution to the increasing scholarship on African American architects. A must have for aspiring and practicing architects, the book will be useful to anyone desiring to research their community's Black architects, buildings, and history in general. It is a useful reference for every church office/library and an indispensible aid of anyone seeking to nominate a historic building to the National Register of Historic Places. -- The AME Church Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (January 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415929598
• ISBN-13: 978-0415929592
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,697,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Black architects, May 18, 2009

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This review is from: African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945 (Hardcover)

A wonderful resource. Short bios of early Afro-American architects with pictures of their signature buildings.