Getty Expands Funding for Historic Modern Buildings Designed by Black Architects

The Getty Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund announced today five new buildings across the U.S. that will receive critical funding from the Conserving Black Modernism initiative, a grant program to preserve historic modern buildings created by Black architects and designers.

The Getty Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund announced today five new buildings across the U.S. that will receive critical funding from the Conserving Black Modernism initiative, a grant program to preserve historic modern buildings created by Black architects and designers.

From a former hat factory-turned Art Moderne church created by Illinois’s first licensed Black architect, Walter T. Bailey, to a Brutalist student hall that showcases the design talents of University of Oregon architecture professor DeNorval Unthank Jr., the grants uphold the legacies of Black architects, preserving underrecognized sites and the stories behind them.

Getty funding will support preservation plans for these buildings, bolster the skills of professionals who care for them, promote community engagement, and increase public awareness of the pioneering Black architects and designers who contributed to the modernist architecture movement.

“Each year Conserving Black Modernism has expanded the number of architects recognized through the initiative, and we’re excited to include five new designers whose innovative buildings enriched communities from coast to coast,” says Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation. “Working in tandem with the National Trust, our goal is to help tell a more complete story of the trailblazing contributions of Black architects to the modern movement, which in turn reframes the movement itself.”

Conserving Black Modernism is part of the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, the largest preservation campaign to support the longevity of African American sites. The Action Fund today also announced funding for a total of 24 sites representing Black history across the U.S., which includes the five sites supported by Getty funding.

“Today, only two percent of registered architects in the United States identify as Black. The Conserving Black Modernism program is ensuring the historic contributions Black designers have made to this field are celebrated and can inspire current and future generations,” said Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and senior vice president at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “This year's cohort includes sites by architectural giants, and names the world may be learning about for the first time. I'm thrilled that through our partnership with the Getty, the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is helping to ensure their legacy and support the communities that are stewarding these sites today.”

Since its inception, 21 buildings have received grants through Conserving Black Modernism, including a Spanish Rancho- and Japanese-influenced City Hall designed by the oldest Black American architectural firm in Los Angeles, a theater in Washington D.C. named after the first Black actor to play leading roles in Shakespeare plays, and an award-winning swimming pool and pool house in Wichita, Kansas. This third round of grants also expand the initiative’s reach into new communities with the first projects in Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. See all Conserving Black Modernism grants awarded since 2022.

Conserving Black Modernism Grantees for 2025

Founders Church of Religious Science in Los Angeles, CA

Dedicated in 1960, the Founders Church of Religious Science was designed by Paul R. Williams, the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects. Its sleek, elliptical design was inspired by geometric forms that represented congregation founder Dr. Ernest Holmes’ teachings of wholeness, unity, and positivity. The nearly 20,000-square-foot reinforced concrete building has a grand steel-framed dome and concrete screen, and the interior design notably featured closed-circuit television—a brand-new technology at the time—that allowed churchgoers to watch and hear services outside the main auditorium. The site was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2002 and was listed in the National Register in 2020. An accessibility plan will enable more efficient use of the religious landmark and the potential to develop community engagement spaces.

ITC Administration Building in Atlanta, GA

Georgia’s first licensed Black architect Edward C. Miller designed the Administration Building at the International Theological Center, a graduate school of theology comprised of five predominantly Black denominational Christian seminaries. Completed in 1961, it is the oldest building on the center’s campus and features a modern brick facade. Funding will support a historic structures report, building assessments, and a reuse study to determine optimal future uses for the building, in addition to greater historical documentation of Miller’s groundbreaking career.

First Church of Deliverance in Chicago, IL

A former hat factory, the First Church of Deliverance represents an innovative adaptive reuse project with an art moderne style that boldly departed from the architecture typically seen in places of worship. In 1939, the building was redesigned by Walter T. Bailey, the first licensed Black architect in Illinois. Its smooth surfaces, continuous lines, terracotta tiles, and glass blocks accentuate its streamlined form. The colorful glazed tiles represent one of the last major architectural installations of terra cotta in Chicago. The interior was designed with functionality in mind, featuring a low ceiling and original acoustical plaster to augment the church’s radio broadcasts and gospel music. A Getty grant will support the Chicago landmark’s first comprehensive preservation plan and campus stewardship plan spanning the church building, Maggie Drummond Community Center and Day Care, and Children's Church.

McKenzie Hall in Eugene, OR

The University of Oregon’s McKenzie Hall was designed in 1968 by DeNorval Unthank Jr., the first Black graduate of the university’s architecture school. Unthank was an architectural professor at UO and contributed to Eugene’s architectural heritage through the design of schools, public buildings, and business facilities including residence halls at the university and Lane County Courthouse. McKenzie Hall’s geometric, brick and exposed concrete construction is exemplary of the Brutalist style. A preservation and interpretation plan will inform the future conservation of the building as a historic resource, support educational events for the university and its local community, and recognize Unthank’s contribution to the campus’s design through an interpretive display.

Vassar College’s 2500 New Hackensack building in Poughkeepsie, NY

The 2500 New Hackensack Building on Vassar College’s campus was designed by Jeh Vincent Johnson and completed in 1963. Johnson is a co-founder of the National Organization of Minority Architects, served on President Lyndon B. Johnson’s National Commission on Urban Problems, and chaired the National Committee on Housing for the American Institute of Architects. The building is exemplary of Black architects’ contributions to the modernist style and features a minimalist brick, steel, and glass construction. The project marked a pivotal moment in Johnson’s career, coinciding with his long-standing tenure as a professor of architectural design in the college’s Art Department. Funds will support a facilities management and preservation plan and support deeper engagement with Johnson’s legacy on campus.

Each year, the Getty Center has hosted a week-long training workshop for Conserving Black Modernism grantees, in collaboration with the National Trust and Getty’s Conserving Modern Architecture Initiative. Participants meet and network to discuss challenges and strategies for preserving Black cultural heritage.

Conserving Black Modernism is one of several efforts by Getty to broaden awareness of and preserve Black architectural heritage, including its African American Historic Places Los Angeles initiative and its joint acquisition of the archive of Paul R. Williams, one of the best-known 20th-century Black architects in the U.S.