Wallace Rayfield
Encyclopedia
Wallace A. Rayfield was the second formally educated practicing African American
architect in the United States.
Rayfield graduated from Pratt Institute
, Columbia University
in 1899 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Upon graduation, he was recruited by Booker T. Washington
to the Directorship of the Architectural and Mechanical Drawing Department at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama
. In 1907, Rayfield opened a professional office in Tuskegee from which he sold mail-order plans nationwide. He also advertised "branch offices" in Birmingham
, Montgomery
, Mobile
and Talladega, Alabama
and Atlanta
, Savannah
, Macon and Augusta, Georgia
.
He left Tuskegee Institute and moved to Birmingham in 1908 to focus on his young practice. He was elected as Superintending Architect for the Freedman's Aid Society
and Connectional Architect of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
architect in the United States.
Rayfield graduated from Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1899 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Upon graduation, he was recruited by Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
to the Directorship of the Architectural and Mechanical Drawing Department at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. In 1907, Rayfield opened a professional office in Tuskegee from which he sold mail-order plans nationwide. He also advertised "branch offices" in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
and Talladega, Alabama
Talladega, Alabama
Talladega is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 15,143. The city is the county seat of Talladega County. Talladega is approximately 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama....
and Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, Macon and Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
.
He left Tuskegee Institute and moved to Birmingham in 1908 to focus on his young practice. He was elected as Superintending Architect for the Freedman's Aid Society
Freedman's Aid Society
The Freedmen’s Aid Society was founded in 1861 during the American Civil War by the American Missionary Association , a group supported chiefly by the Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the North. It organized a supply of teachers from the North and provided housing for them,...
and Connectional Architect of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, or AME Zion Church, is a historically African-American Christian denomination. It was officially formed in 1821, but operated for a number of years before then....
.
Notable works
- 16th Street Baptist Church16th Street Baptist ChurchSixteenth Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama which is frequented predominately by African Americans. In September 1963, it was the target of the racially motivated 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four girls in the midst of the American Civil Rights...
, Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, 1911 - 32nd Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, 1924
- 6th Avenue Baptist Church, Birmingham
- Trinity Baptist Church, Birmingham
- Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church, Birmingham
- Ebenezer Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois
- St Paul's Episcopal Church, Batesville, ArkansasBatesville, ArkansasBatesville is the county seat and largest city of Independence County, Arkansas, United States, 80 miles northeast of Little Rock, the state capital. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 9,556...
- Trinity Building, South Africa
- Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Pensacola, FloridaPensacola, FloridaPensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
- Morning Star Baptist Church, Demopolis, AlabamaDemopolis, AlabamaDemopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, Alabama, United States. The population was 7,483 at the time of the 2010 United States Census....
- Marlinton Methodist Church, Marlinton, West VirginiaMarlinton, West VirginiaMarlinton is a town in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,204 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pocahontas County.-History:...
- Marlinton Presbyterian Church, Marlinton, West VirginiaMarlinton, West VirginiaMarlinton is a town in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,204 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pocahontas County.-History:...
- Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, Milton, FloridaMilton, FloridaMilton , or Milltown, because Milton had the largest mill around) is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. The city was incorporated in 1844 and is home to Naval Air Station Whiting Field. The population was 7,045 at the 2000 census. In 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
- Madame Clisby Residence, Birmingham
- Dr A. M. Brown Residence, Birmingham
- R. A. Blount Residence, Birmingham
- Rocky Springs Presbyterian Church, Laurens, SC
See also
- Robert R. TaylorRobert R. TaylorRobert Robinson Taylor was an American architect; by some accounts the first accredited African American Architect in the United States....
, the first professionally-trained African American architect in the United States - William Sidney PittmanWilliam Sidney PittmanWilliam Sidney Pittman was the African-American Architect. He was born in 1876 and died in 1958. William Pittman received his education from Tuskegee Institute and Drexel Institute in Philadelphia. He designed a number of buildings for the Tuskegee Institute and developed the Fairmont Heights...
and Vetner Tandy, students of Rayfield's
External links
- Wallace A. Rayfield site by Allen R. Durough
- Wallace Rayfield at BhamWiki.com