Julian Abele: Architect of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Duke University and So Much More
- SlaveryMuseum
- Jan 5, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: Jan 16, 2022
Out of the Shadows
"African-American architect Julian Abele is finally getting recognition for his contributions to some of 20th-century America’s most prestigious buildings"
"Abele was not the first black architect in the United States, but he was probably the most accomplished of his era. Between 1906, when he joined the all-white Philadelphia firm of Horace Trumbauer, until his death in 1950, he designed or contributed to the design of some 250 buildings, including Harvard’s Widener Memorial Library, the Museum of Art and the Free Library, both in Philadelphia, and a host of Gilded Age mansions in Newport and New York City."
The unbridled brilliance of Julian Abele
The 1902 graduate of the architecture program is finally starting to receive credit for his vast and iconic portfolio, which includes the central branch of the Free Library, Penn’s President’s House, Harvard’s flagship library, and more than 30 spaces and places on Duke’s campus.
A History Minute: 11 Things You Didn't Know About Julian Abele, Architect of the Parkway
"As Head Designer of Horace Trumbauer’s architecture firm, Julian Abele designed the Free Library and the Philadelphia Art Museum and set the tone for the entire parkway. He designed buildings and palatial estates throughout the Philadelphia region as well as in New York City, Boston, and Newport, R.I. But there was more to this self-effacing man than columns and pediments...
Julian Abele was born into Philadelphia’s African-American aristocracy. His mother was descended from Absalom Jones , founder of the Free African Society. and St. Thomas Episcopal Church."
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