Women’s History Month: Beverly L. Greene – Architect & Urban Planner (1915-1957)
Posted: 2011/03/08 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: African-American women, architects, architecture, city planning, urban planners, Women's History Month 3 Comments »
Senior Portrait circa 1936
Photo Credit: University of Illinois
Born Chicago, IL, Beverly Loraine Greene is believed to be the first registered African-American woman architect in the United States. The only child of a lawyer and a homemaker, Greene attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign going on to earn a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in architectural engineering in 1936 and a Master of Science (M.S.) in city planning a year later. In December 1942, Greene registered as an architect with the State of Illinois. She was 27 years old at the time.
Upon finishing her graduate education, Greene returned to Chicago and was hired by the Chicago Housing Authority, breaking the racial and gender glass ceilings at the agency. In 1945, Greene moved to New York City to work on the development of Stuyvesant Town a private housing complex on the east side of Manhattan. Greene did not believe she would be able to work on the project due to her reading about Stuyvesant Town “not allowing Negroes to live in the development” however, she was hired to work on the development, only to leave soon after to accept a scholarship from Columbia University to study city planning. Greene received a masters in architecture from Columbia University in June 1945.
During her career, Greene worked for several noted architects including Isadore Rosefield, Edward Durell Stone and Marcel Breuer. Below is a list of projects Greene worked on during her career:
| Project | Location | Year |
| Christian Reformation Church (now Christian Parish for Spiritual Renewal) | New York City | 1956 |
| New York University | New York City | (c) 1956 |
| Sarah Lawrence College Theater | Bronxville, NY | 1952 |
| United Nations Headquarters | Paris, France | 1950s |
| Unity Funeral Chapel | New York City | 1954 |
| University of Arkansas Theater | Fayetteville, AK | 1951 |
At the age of 41, Greene died on August 22, 1957. A memorial service was held for Greene at Unity Funeral Chapel, one of the projects she designed.
Resources:
African-American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1864-1945 (New York: Routledge, 2004)
“Beverly Greene,” Jet Magazine, September 5, 1957
Greene, Beverly Loraine (1915-1957) – BlackPast.org http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/greene-beverly-loraine-1915-1957
Mitchell, Melissa, “Research Project Spotlights African-American Architects from University of Illinois http://news.illinois.edu/news/06/0209architects.html
“Woman Architect Blazes a New Trail for Others,” Amsterdam News, June 23, 1945
It’s very refreshing seeing blogs like this pop up everywhere, keep up the good work!!
MesaATLien,
Thank you for stopping by! I’ve actually almost made it to the six month mark of this blogging game. Thanks for the encouragement!
Hey, that’s way better than what I did…
I wrote one post…about what future posts were going to be written about! Then classes and activities took over my life!