Wallace Rayfield

Wallace A. Rayfield (May 11, 1874—February 28, 1941) was the second formally educated practicing African American architect in the United States.

Early career

Rayfield grew up in Macon, Georgia and Washington D.C., where he entered Howard University after high school. He continued his studied at the Pratt Institute of Columbia University, graduating in 1899 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture.

Upon graduation, he was briefly employed in the office of A. B. Mullett and Co. of Washington D.C., but was soon recruited by Booker T. Washington to direct the Architectural and Mechanical Drawing Department at Tuskegee Institute. Complaining of low pay, Rayfield resigned in 1907 and opened a professional office in Tuskegee from which he sold mail-order plans nationwide. He also advertised "branch offices" in Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Talladega, Atlanta, Savannah, and Augusta. Also in 1907 he married his first wife, Jennie.

Life in Birmingham

Rayfield left Tuskegee Institute and moved to Birmingham in 1908 to focus on his young practice. He appeared in the city directory of that year at his residence at 109 Corrilla Street (now Center Place South). Later that year he constructed his own residence at 105 1st Avenue South in Titusville. The house was designed, financed and constructed entirely within the African American community (one of only 10 such houses in Birmingham, according to historian Phillip W. Holland). The home features a large stained glass window and a special "architectural room" surrounded by windows in the attic level. Mr & Mrs Rayfield raised a daughter, Edith there, attending Saint Mark's Episcopal Church. Mrs Rayfield died in 1929 and was interred at Grace Hill Cemetery.

During the Depression it was impossible to keep ahead of business. On March 1, 2932 he married widow Bessie Fulwood Rogers, who was herself employed by Dr Edmund W. Rucker, Jr. Rayfield resided with her at 328 Iota Avenue, a few blocks from his former home. In his later years, he joined the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on 6th Avenue South. He suffered declining health and passed away at home at the end of February 1941. He is interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Woodlawn.

Professional career

In addition to his personal office at home, Rayfield owned a series of downtown offices. The City Directory lists these as: 1717 1/2 3rd Avenue North, 402 & 404 1/2 15th Street North, the Alabama Penny Savings Bank Building, the Pythian Temple Building, and the Masonic Temple Building. According to his correspondence, he also kept offices in the Echols Building In 1913 he was listed in partnership with Alphonso Reveron. He taught one year at Industrial High School in 1919-20

He received most of his commissions from churches, having been elected Superintending Architect for the Freedmen’s Aid Society and, from 1909, the official architect of the national African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. He also completed several residences in Birmingham and a number of school buildings. It is estimated that, including his mail order plans, that he designed thousands of structures across the United States.

Notable works

Birmingham

• 1st Congregational Church
• 16th Street Baptist Church, 1911
• 32nd Street Baptist Church, 1924
• 6th Avenue Baptist Church
• Harmony Street Baptist Church
• South Elyton Baptist Church
• Trinity Baptist Church
• R. A. Blount Residence
• Dr A. M. Brown Residence
• Bishop R. T. Brown Residence
• Madame Clisby Residence
• J. M. Coar Residence
• John W. Commons Residence
• A. G. Dobbins Residence
• Dunbar Hotel
• Elk's Rest
• Harriet Strong Undertaking Company
• Hill Top (Smith-Gaston Residence), Fairfield
• Rev. J. S. Jackson Residence (Mortimer Street and 8th Avenue, now the 8th Avenue YWCA)
• Prof. Charles T. Mabry Residence
• Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church
• O. K. French Cleaners Building
• A. H. Parker Residence
• Pythian Temple
• R. W. Seymour Residence
• T. S. Strawbridge Residence
• Thomas School
• Walton's Cafe

Other

• Ebenezer Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois
• Haven Institute Dormitory, Meridian, Mississippi
• Independent Benevolent Order Home Office Building, Atlanta, Georgia
• Marlinton Methodist Church, Marlinton, West Virginia
• Marlinton Presbyterian Church, Marlinton, West Virginia
• Morning Star Baptist Church, Demopolis, Alabama
• Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, Milton, Florida
• Mount Zion Baptist Church, Pensacola, Florida
• St Paul's Episcopal Church, Batesville, Arkansas
• Trinity Building, South Africa

References

• Brown, Charles A. (1972) W. A. Rayfield: Pioneer Black Architect of Birmingham, Ala. Birmingham: Gray Printing Company
• McKenzie, Vinson. (Fall 1993) "A Pioneering African-American Architect in Alabama: Wallace A. Rayfield, 1874-1941." Journal of the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art & Architecture. Vol. 13
• "Wallace Rayfield." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 18 Mar 2006, 03:54 UTC. 22 Mar 2006, 18:58 [1].

External links

• Wallace A. Rayfield site by Allen R. Durough
• Rayfield Legacy project to convert 32nd St. Baptist Church in Birmingham to condominiums. Includes history of the church.