Donald Frank White | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 28, 1908 Canada |
| Died | April 23, 2002 (aged 93) |
| Education | University of Michigan |
| Occupation(s) | Architect, civil engineer, structural engineer |
| Years active | 1932–1968; 1980–1995 |
| Spouse | Susie Taylor (m. 1936–1999; death) |
Donald Frank White (1908 – 2002) was a Canadian-born American architect and engineer, of African descent. [1] He was the first Black architect registered in the states of Alabama (in 1935) and Michigan (in 1939). [2] He had been a partner of the firm of White & Griffin Architecture–Engineering Associates; and he later worked in the firms of Giffels & Vallet, and Nathan Johnson & Associates. [3] He also worked in the 1950s for the United States government in designing structures in Liberia. [2] White was the first Black graduate from the School of Architecture (now Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning) at University of Michigan, both in the undergraduate and graduate program. [4] He was the first Black member of the Detroit chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and an early member of the national chapter. [4] [5]
Donald Frank White was born on May 28, 1908 in Canada, and he was raised in Cicero, Illinois. [3] His parents were Ada Perry and Ferry White, his father worked as a pattern maker for a gray iron foundry. [3] His family moved when he was a teenager to Pontiac, Michigan. He attended Pontiac High School and graduated in 1927. [3]
He married Susie Taylor around 1936, she was from Sparta, Georgia. [3] They never had children. [3] White graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture (1932) from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, making him the first African American graduate from the department. [6] [7] In 1934, he received a master's of science degree in architecture from the University of Michigan's Rackham School of Graduate Studies. [3] [7]
From 1931 to 1933, White interned as a field assistant under Fredrick Earnest Giesecke. [3] After graduating with a graduate degree in 1934, White joined the faculty at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), working under the supervision of George L. Washington. [3] The following year, in 1935, he became the first African American architect licensed in Alabama. [3] While working at Tuskegee Institute, White worked with Louis Edwin Fry Sr. to design nearby campus buildings; including the Alabama State Teacher's College (now Alabama State University) in Montgomery, and the School for the Deaf in Mount Meigs. [3]
In 1939, White left Tuskegee and moved to Detroit, where he opened a private practice in the Michigan Chronicle Building. [3] He became the first licensed African American architect in Michigan in 1939. [3] His office hired local Black architects, draftsman, and engineers, including Helen Eugenia Parker. [3] In 1943–1944, he worked for Wayne County Better Homes, Inc., a Booker T. Washington trade association project, where White designed 10 floor plans. [8] [9]
In 1944, White joined the Detroit chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA); making him the first Black local chapter member, and either the second [5] [10] or third Black national member. [3] [4] In 1944, he became a registered civil and structural engineer in the state of Michigan. [3] He partnered with Francis Eugene Griffin between 1946 and 1968 to form the firm of White & Griffin Architecture–Engineering Associates. [3] [11] He later worked in the firms of Giffels & Vallet, and Nathan Johnson & Associates, Inc., both in Detroit. [3]
White served as president of the National Technical Association from 1949 until 1951, the organization was primarily made of African American engineers, scientists, and architects. [3] He was also a member of the Economic Club of Detroit, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the NAACP, the Albany Inter-Racial Council, and the Booker T. Washington Business Association. [3]
From 1953 until 1958, White was a deputy chief of an educational project in Harbel, Liberia. [3] The project was a joint venture between the United States government, the Liberian government, and Prairie View A&M University to create the Booker T. Washington Institute, a vocational school patterned after the U.S. land grant college system. [3]
From 1952 until 1955, White worked on the design for the Tappan Zee bridge. [4] In 1958, he moved to Troy, New York to be closer to family. [3] He worked as an architect for the New York State Department of Public Works in Albany, New York; after receiving his New York state license to practice architecture and engineering. [3] He retired in 1968. However at the age of 72, in 1980, he came out of retirement to become a staff architect for the City of Albany Community Development Department (in Albany, New York). [3] He returned to his retirement in 1995.
White died on April 23, 2002 in Troy; his service was held at the Fifth Avenue AME Zion Church in Troy, New York. [3]
He had been a great influence on many early career Black architects in the 1940s and 1950s. [2] [6] [12] The Donald F. White Fellowship was established in 2003 at the University of Michigan, for graduate students of architecture. [4] White is profiled in the biographical dictionary African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865–1945 (2004).
Many of White's buildings in the Detroit neighborhoods of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s during the time of city " urban renewal" projects. [2]
- 1931, Prairie View A&M College (now Prairie View A&M University) registrars office, Prairie View, Texas [3]
- 1932, Prairie View A&M College dorms for unmarried men
- 1933, Prairie View A&M College duplex, Prairie View, Texas
- 1934, Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) Chambliss Hotel alterations, Tuskegee, Alabama
- 1934, Tuskegee Institute Cottage No. 34, Tuskegee, Alabama
- c. 1934, Tuskegee Institute Kay Barn, Tuskegee, Alabama
- c. 1934, Tuskegee Institute Russell Barn, Tuskegee, Alabama
- c. 1934, Tuskegee Institute Tompkins Dining Hall, Tuskegee, Alabama
- 1938, Sanitarium, Selma, Alabama
- 1938, Mt. Meigs School for the Deaf, Mount Meigs, Alabama; as associate architect
- 1940, St. Stephens African Methodist Episcopal Church addition, Detroit, Michigan
- 1944, Paradise Bowling Alley, Detroit, Michigan (destroyed in a fire in 1950) [6]
- 1944, Friend Baptist Church Auditorium, Detroit, Michigan
- 1944, Milton Medical Clinic, Detroit, Michigan
- 1950, Aijalon Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan [6]
- 1954, Lincoln University Library, Jefferson City, Missouri; as associate architect
- c. 1960, Rightway Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan
- ^ "Negro Architects Pioneer In The Field In Michigan". The Michigan Chronicle. 1939-11-25. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Tribou, Doug (2020-02-17). "Donald White, Michigan's first licensed black architect, broke new ground". Michigan Radio NPR. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (March 2004). "Donald Frank White (1908–2002)". African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. Routledge. pp. 600–604. ISBN 978-1-135-95629-5.
- ^ a b c d e Fitzgerald, Linda (2003). Portico: Annual Report to Alumni. University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The College of Architecture and Urban Planning. pp. 20–21.
- ^ a b "Donald F. White Becomes Member of AIA Group". The Michigan Chronicle. 1944-02-26. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Piper, Matthew (2019-07-15). "The legacy of black architects in Detroit". Curbed Detroit. Vox Media, LLC. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
- ^ a b The Michigan Alumnus. Vol. 45. Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. 1939. p. 380.
- ^ "Construction Moving Fast on New Homes". The Michigan Chronicle. 1943-12-04. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Donald F. White Has New Office Location". The Michigan Chronicle. 1944-01-29. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Race Relations: A Monthly Summary of Events and Trends. Negro Universities Press. 1969. p. 17.
- ^ "Architects Move To New Headquarters". The Detroit Tribune. 1948-02-07. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Green, Penelope (2021-11-22). "Nathan Johnson, Modernist Architect of Black Churches, Dies at 96". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
- 1908 births
- 2002 deaths
- 20th-century American architects
- African-American architects
- African-American history of Alabama
- African-American history of Michigan
- American Institute of Architects
- Black Canadian people
- People from Cicero, Illinois
- People from Troy, New York
- Architects from Detroit
- People from Pontiac, Michigan
- Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning alumni
- Tuskegee University faculty
- University of Michigan alumni
Donald Frank White | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 28, 1908 Canada |
| Died | April 23, 2002 (aged 93) |
| Education | University of Michigan |
| Occupation(s) | Architect, civil engineer, structural engineer |
| Years active | 1932–1968; 1980–1995 |
| Spouse | Susie Taylor (m. 1936–1999; death) |
Donald Frank White (1908 – 2002) was a Canadian-born American architect and engineer, of African descent. [1] He was the first Black architect registered in the states of Alabama (in 1935) and Michigan (in 1939). [2] He had been a partner of the firm of White & Griffin Architecture–Engineering Associates; and he later worked in the firms of Giffels & Vallet, and Nathan Johnson & Associates. [3] He also worked in the 1950s for the United States government in designing structures in Liberia. [2] White was the first Black graduate from the School of Architecture (now Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning) at University of Michigan, both in the undergraduate and graduate program. [4] He was the first Black member of the Detroit chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and an early member of the national chapter. [4] [5]
Donald Frank White was born on May 28, 1908 in Canada, and he was raised in Cicero, Illinois. [3] His parents were Ada Perry and Ferry White, his father worked as a pattern maker for a gray iron foundry. [3] His family moved when he was a teenager to Pontiac, Michigan. He attended Pontiac High School and graduated in 1927. [3]
He married Susie Taylor around 1936, she was from Sparta, Georgia. [3] They never had children. [3] White graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture (1932) from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, making him the first African American graduate from the department. [6] [7] In 1934, he received a master's of science degree in architecture from the University of Michigan's Rackham School of Graduate Studies. [3] [7]
From 1931 to 1933, White interned as a field assistant under Fredrick Earnest Giesecke. [3] After graduating with a graduate degree in 1934, White joined the faculty at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), working under the supervision of George L. Washington. [3] The following year, in 1935, he became the first African American architect licensed in Alabama. [3] While working at Tuskegee Institute, White worked with Louis Edwin Fry Sr. to design nearby campus buildings; including the Alabama State Teacher's College (now Alabama State University) in Montgomery, and the School for the Deaf in Mount Meigs. [3]
In 1939, White left Tuskegee and moved to Detroit, where he opened a private practice in the Michigan Chronicle Building. [3] He became the first licensed African American architect in Michigan in 1939. [3] His office hired local Black architects, draftsman, and engineers, including Helen Eugenia Parker. [3] In 1943–1944, he worked for Wayne County Better Homes, Inc., a Booker T. Washington trade association project, where White designed 10 floor plans. [8] [9]
In 1944, White joined the Detroit chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA); making him the first Black local chapter member, and either the second [5] [10] or third Black national member. [3] [4] In 1944, he became a registered civil and structural engineer in the state of Michigan. [3] He partnered with Francis Eugene Griffin between 1946 and 1968 to form the firm of White & Griffin Architecture–Engineering Associates. [3] [11] He later worked in the firms of Giffels & Vallet, and Nathan Johnson & Associates, Inc., both in Detroit. [3]
White served as president of the National Technical Association from 1949 until 1951, the organization was primarily made of African American engineers, scientists, and architects. [3] He was also a member of the Economic Club of Detroit, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the NAACP, the Albany Inter-Racial Council, and the Booker T. Washington Business Association. [3]
From 1953 until 1958, White was a deputy chief of an educational project in Harbel, Liberia. [3] The project was a joint venture between the United States government, the Liberian government, and Prairie View A&M University to create the Booker T. Washington Institute, a vocational school patterned after the U.S. land grant college system. [3]
From 1952 until 1955, White worked on the design for the Tappan Zee bridge. [4] In 1958, he moved to Troy, New York to be closer to family. [3] He worked as an architect for the New York State Department of Public Works in Albany, New York; after receiving his New York state license to practice architecture and engineering. [3] He retired in 1968. However at the age of 72, in 1980, he came out of retirement to become a staff architect for the City of Albany Community Development Department (in Albany, New York). [3] He returned to his retirement in 1995.
White died on April 23, 2002 in Troy; his service was held at the Fifth Avenue AME Zion Church in Troy, New York. [3]
He had been a great influence on many early career Black architects in the 1940s and 1950s. [2] [6] [12] The Donald F. White Fellowship was established in 2003 at the University of Michigan, for graduate students of architecture. [4] White is profiled in the biographical dictionary African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865–1945 (2004).
Many of White's buildings in the Detroit neighborhoods of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s during the time of city " urban renewal" projects. [2]
- 1931, Prairie View A&M College (now Prairie View A&M University) registrars office, Prairie View, Texas [3]
- 1932, Prairie View A&M College dorms for unmarried men
- 1933, Prairie View A&M College duplex, Prairie View, Texas
- 1934, Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) Chambliss Hotel alterations, Tuskegee, Alabama
- 1934, Tuskegee Institute Cottage No. 34, Tuskegee, Alabama
- c. 1934, Tuskegee Institute Kay Barn, Tuskegee, Alabama
- c. 1934, Tuskegee Institute Russell Barn, Tuskegee, Alabama
- c. 1934, Tuskegee Institute Tompkins Dining Hall, Tuskegee, Alabama
- 1938, Sanitarium, Selma, Alabama
- 1938, Mt. Meigs School for the Deaf, Mount Meigs, Alabama; as associate architect
- 1940, St. Stephens African Methodist Episcopal Church addition, Detroit, Michigan
- 1944, Paradise Bowling Alley, Detroit, Michigan (destroyed in a fire in 1950) [6]
- 1944, Friend Baptist Church Auditorium, Detroit, Michigan
- 1944, Milton Medical Clinic, Detroit, Michigan
- 1950, Aijalon Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan [6]
- 1954, Lincoln University Library, Jefferson City, Missouri; as associate architect
- c. 1960, Rightway Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan
- ^ "Negro Architects Pioneer In The Field In Michigan". The Michigan Chronicle. 1939-11-25. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Tribou, Doug (2020-02-17). "Donald White, Michigan's first licensed black architect, broke new ground". Michigan Radio NPR. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (March 2004). "Donald Frank White (1908–2002)". African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. Routledge. pp. 600–604. ISBN 978-1-135-95629-5.
- ^ a b c d e Fitzgerald, Linda (2003). Portico: Annual Report to Alumni. University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The College of Architecture and Urban Planning. pp. 20–21.
- ^ a b "Donald F. White Becomes Member of AIA Group". The Michigan Chronicle. 1944-02-26. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Piper, Matthew (2019-07-15). "The legacy of black architects in Detroit". Curbed Detroit. Vox Media, LLC. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
- ^ a b The Michigan Alumnus. Vol. 45. Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. 1939. p. 380.
- ^ "Construction Moving Fast on New Homes". The Michigan Chronicle. 1943-12-04. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Donald F. White Has New Office Location". The Michigan Chronicle. 1944-01-29. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Race Relations: A Monthly Summary of Events and Trends. Negro Universities Press. 1969. p. 17.
- ^ "Architects Move To New Headquarters". The Detroit Tribune. 1948-02-07. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-09-08 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Green, Penelope (2021-11-22). "Nathan Johnson, Modernist Architect of Black Churches, Dies at 96". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
- 1908 births
- 2002 deaths
- 20th-century American architects
- African-American architects
- African-American history of Alabama
- African-American history of Michigan
- American Institute of Architects
- Black Canadian people
- People from Cicero, Illinois
- People from Troy, New York
- Architects from Detroit
- People from Pontiac, Michigan
- Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning alumni
- Tuskegee University faculty
- University of Michigan alumni