African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945 / Edition 1

by Dreck Spurlock Wilson

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415929592
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/12/2004
Pages:	568
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dreck Spurlock Wilson is an African-American architect and holds an M.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Chicago. Wilson has contributed to historical journals and books on African-American history, art, and architecture.

Table of Contents

Preface to The New Don’t Blame Mother, Acknowledgments, 1 Getting Started, 2 Such Love, Such Rage, 3 Mother-Blaming, 4 Mother–Daughter Barriers: The Perfect Mother Myths, 5 The Bad Mother Myths, 6 Feeling Safe: Going Beyond the Myths, 7 Mending the Relationship, 8 What Mothers and Daughters Have Done, 9 It Is Only a Door, Appendix A, Appendix B, Notes, Bibliography, Index, About the Author

Editorial Reviews

"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

From the Publisher

This valuable reference, edited by Wilson, an African American landscape architect and historian, chronicles the lives and careers of 168 African American architects who practiced in America, up to 1945. It has a distinctly professional cast, omitting coverage of more than 80 individuals who were alleged to have conducted architectural work but whose records were not professional enough to be included here. This work follows the same format as Scribner's famous Dictionary of American Biography, now in its fifth edition from Gale. Each entry includes a brief, illustrated, two- to three-page write-up, a list of known works (which include Harvard's Widener Library), and a bibliography of published sources. Over 100 contributors, "from sea to shining sea," have helped put this biographical dictionary in order. Funded by a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in Fine Arts, this work includes 200 black-and-white photos and an appendix of buildings by region. It belongs on the shelves of every academic library and even some architectural firms.-Peter S. Kaufman, Boston Architectural Ctr. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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