Archinect - News

Preserving the legacy of William Sidney Pittman, the 'first Black architect of Texas'

2024-02-28T12:23:00-05:00

Many of his designs sit within historic Black neighborhoods with African American historical and cultural institutions. At the Glen Oaks Cemetery in South Dallas, Pittman’s grave marker reminds visitors why his buildings are significant points of interest—after all, he was the “first Black architect of Texas.”

The building legacy of William Sidney Pittman, who arrived in Dallas from Washington, D.C., right before World War I, stands at only seven surviving structures. UT Austin School of Architecture assistant professor Tara A. Dudley says: “His arrival provided African Americans in Texas access to a professional architect within the race — as opposed to relying on white architects as most did — and who, as a Black man, understood the needs and requirements of the African American community.”

Pittman, who was also a tremendously incisive polemic writer and early inspiration for Paul Revere Williams, died in March of 1958 with a portfolio of fifteen completed buildings in the state. Dudley and others are now ardently at work preserving his legacy there and in D.C. (where his 1912 Anthony Bowen YMCA design still stands). As she tells Texas Highways, “[His] work needs to be preserved for future generations as a testament to his significance in the profession of architecture in the U.S. in th...

Historic civil rights-era church in Memphis to undergo $25 million renovation

2024-02-19T12:02:00-05:00

Memphis’ Clayborn Temple, a historic civil rights landmark, is set to undergo a $25 million renovation. The five-year-long project hopes to “not only preserve its historic significance but also usher in a new era of vitality for this cultural gem and the surrounding community,” as seen in new renderings by Self+Tucker Architects.

Image credit: Self+Tucker Architects

The building was originally constructed in 1892 as Second Presbyterian Church, where it served an all-white congregation. In 1949, the building was sold to an African Methodist Episcopal congregation for $100,000 and renamed Clayborn Temple.

Image credit: Self+Tucker Architects

Throughout the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the church served as an important node for social, cultural, spiritual, and political expressions for the city’s African American communities, ultimately becoming the organizing headquarters for The Sanitation Workers’ Strike of 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last campaign.

Image credit: Self+Tu...

African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund: Another $4 million will go toward preserving Black churches

2024-02-02T12:20:00-05:00

The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation has announced another round of funding totaling $4 million that will be put towards preserving Black churches in 22 states across the country.

The program’s second round of funding for the two-year-old Preserving Black Churches initiative will help maintain the legacies of 31 churches.

Black churches in the United States are at the center of the country's lifelong fight for democratic reforms and are a key character in the story of African American's survival and resilience in America. As the historian and advisor to the Action Fund, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., explained, “Black churches have been at the forefront of meaningful democratic reform since this nation’s founding. They’re a living testament to the resilience of our ancestors in the face of unimaginably daunting challenges.”

“The heart of our spiritual world is the Black church. These places of worship, these sacred cultural ...

Black churches are leading the fight to create affordable housing nationwide

2023-02-10T17:29:00-05:00

As the religious and urban landscape changes in North America, churches have had to adapt and evolve. [...] Black churches are responding to these shifts in religiousness, population change, and lack of housing by working to change land use regulations and asking how church property can serve a different function in the community.

Seattle’s Nehemiah Initiative is cited as one example of the nationwide movement that is taking root in Washington, D.C., San Diego, and Oakland, among other places. There, certain neighborhoods have seen more than 50% declines in their Black population. A pair of University of Washington studio courses recently produced feasibility studies for nine churches in the Central district, resulting in four entering into the predevelopment process for housing starts.

Churches are a known commodity in the fight against other forms of injustice and are now turning to zoning regulations as a means of pressing local policymakers into action in increased numbers. More than 4.3 million units are needed to meet demands by 2035 nationally, and successful programs like Alameda County’s Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) are seen as the best models for abatement of that problem in league with a...

Lee Bey reminds us of the beauty and importance of Chicago's Black Churches

2021-02-08T16:54:00-05:00

Photographer, writer, and lecturer Lee Bey has used his experience as a Chicago native to help uncover, highlight, and preserve the historical significance and importance of architecture within Black communities. In 2017 Bey showcased Southern Exposure, an exhibition at the Chicago Architecture Biennial consisting of photographs of buildings located on Chicago's South Side.

After years of documenting, Bey has created a deeper meaning behind these buildings. The images he's captured are reflections and visual narratives of his perspectives and viewpoints behind the camera lens. In tandem with his exhibition, Bey published his book Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago's South Side. Previously covered on Archinect, he shared in conversation with Iker Gil that "The exhibition and the book grew up together [...] The idea was to not make the book an exhibition book, but to use the exhibition as inspiration and to go beyond the show and showcase more buildings and pla...