Eight Black Modernist Buildings Receive Getty Support

Grants are part of a partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation

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Lawn with white cross and brick church with sloped roof.

First Baptist Church-West

Photo: Tema Nicole Stauffer

By Katie Underwood

Jun 14, 2023

An award-winning swimming pool and pool house in Wichita, Kansas, a vibrant cultural center in Watts, California, and two of the oldest Black Baptist churches in the United States are among $1.2 million in grants announced by Getty to preserve eight historic modern buildings as part of its Conserving Black Modernism initiative.

The initiative is a partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation to address the historical omissions of buildings designed by Black architects from the story of Modernism in the United States. Getty’s support is being used for conservation planning, professional training, and storytelling needed to celebrate and preserve buildings designed by Black architects for the future.

In the 20th century, Black architects and designers helped shape the modern architecture movement in the United States by innovating, experimenting, and pushing the limits of how people interact with the built environment. Yet their contributions have been largely overlooked and undervalued.

“Our understanding of modernism in the United States will remain incomplete until we recognize the extraordinary contributions of Black architects and designers, whose buildings speak to the experience of Black communities in this era,” said Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation. “These grants will preserve important sites, deliver training to the people who care for them, and reveal new stories for all of us about the talents and resiliency of Black architects in 20th-century America.”

Conserving Black Modernism is part of the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, created in 2017 and dedicated to preserving sites of African American activism, achievement, and resilience. In addition to the eight buildings supported by Conserving Black Modernism, an additional 32 have received support this year from the Fund.

“The Action Fund’s investment in and celebration of 40 historic African American places illustrates our belief that historic preservation plays an important role in American society,” said Brent Leggs, executive director, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and senior vice president, National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The history embodied in these places is emblematic of generational aspirations for freedom, the pursuit of education, a need for beauty and architecture, and joys of social life and community bonds. That’s why the Action Fund believes all Americans must see themselves and our shared history in this year’s grantee list if we are to create a culturally conscious nation.”

There will be an additional round of Conserving Black Modernism grants announced in 2024.

Conserving Black Modernism Grantees for 2023

Charles McAfee Swimming Pool and Pool House
Grant Category: Project Planning with Limited Capital Repairs
Grantee: City of Wichita | Wichita, Kansas

Constructed in 1969, the Charles McAfee Pool House, with its distinctive modular shade structures, was designed by Black architect Charles McAfee, one of the founding members of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). Funding will go towards developing a preservation plan to guide the site’s future maintenance and long-term care.

Watts Happening Cultural Center
Grant Category: Project Planning
Grantee: City of Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California

A design collaboration between African American architects Robert Kennard and Arthur Silvers, the Watts Happening Cultural Center is a centerpiece for Black arts and culture in the Watts neighborhood of South Los Angeles. Funding will enable the development of a Historic Structure Report and preservation plan to guide future rehabilitation and programming for this cultural anchor, home of the historic Mafundi Institute and other community organizations.

Carson City Hall Building
Grant Category: Project Planning
Grantee: City of Carson | Carson, California

The Spanish Rancho- and Japanese-influenced Carson City Hall, with its organic, nautical-inspired forms, was designed by Black architect Robert Kennard, whose firm is the oldest Black American architectural firm in Los Angeles. A Historic Structure Report will provide information to address the preservation needs of the building and landscape as well as enhance public educational programming to raise awareness about the site’s importance. 

First Baptist Church-West
Grant Category: Project Planning with Limited Capital Repairs
Grantee: First Baptist Church-West Community Services Association | Charlotte, North Carolina

Recognized as the oldest Black Baptist church in Charlotte, North Carolina, First Baptist Church-West was designed by Harvey Gantt, the first Black Mayor of Charlotte and the first African American student admitted to Clemson University. A comprehensive plan will allow the history of the sanctuary to be preserved with necessary repairs to the roof and baptismal area. 

Fourth Baptist Church’s Educational Wing
Grant Category: Project Planning with Limited Capital Repairs
Grantee: Fourth Baptist Church | Richmond, Virginia

Established in 1859, Fourth Baptist Church is one of the oldest Black congregations in Virginia. The church’s modernist educational wing was designed by Ethel Bailey Furman, the earliest known Black woman architect in Virginia. Furman was self-taught and designed an estimated two hundred residences and churches in Virginia as well as two churches in Liberia. A Historic Structure Report with limited capital repairs will give the congregation the information they need to preserve the educational wing and allow future generations to learn about the trailblazing legacy of Ethel Bailey Furman.  

Morgan State University’s Jenkins Hall
Grant Category: Project Planning
Grantee: Morgan State University | Baltimore, Maryland

Named after a former president of the University, Jenkins Hall was designed by Louis Edwin Fry, the first African American to receive a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard. Morgan State University will complete a conservation management plan and reuse study to determine the optimal future use for the building while preserving its monumental history. 

Second Baptist Church of Detroit’s Education Building
Grant Category: Project Planning with Limited Capital Repairs
Grantee: Second Baptist Church of Detroit | Detroit, Michigan

Second Baptist Church of Detroit is home to the oldest Black congregation in Michigan. Established in 1836, the church played a significant role in the social and political lives of generations of Black Detroit residents. Renowned Black architect Nathan Johnson designed the Modernist education building in 1968, which allowed the congregation to further its educational impact. A comprehensive building assessment with limited capital repairs will equip the congregation with the necessary framework to preserve the educational building for generations to come.

Zion Baptist Church
Grant Category: Project Planning with Limited Capital Repairs
Grantee: Zion Baptist Church | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Renowned Black architect Walter Livingston, Jr. designed Zion Baptist Church in the early 1970s. Characterized by its dramatic clerestory walls composed of colorful staggered glass panels that rise above the brick first story, the church embodies a deep civil rights history, having been led by civil rights leader Reverend Leon Sullivan. A comprehensive building assessment and preservation plan will provide a roadmap for the protection and maintenance of this significant historic church and community treasure. 

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