She was active in several social and political groups, including the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, one of the most popular national sororities for black women; Greene took on leadership roles at Delta Sigma Theta and headed several committees.22This sorority, better known as the Deltas, was founded at Howard University in 1913; its goals included providing support to under-served communities and highlighting relevant issues. In an Instagram post, Richards posted a series of snapshots throughout the decades posing alongside her longtime friend. In 1936, she graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne with a bachelor's in architectural engineering, making history as the first Black woman to do so. Professional Organizations & Activities: Chair of the Womens Architectural Club; Officer for the Society of Western Engineers; Licensed Architect with the State of Illinois, 1941; Licensed Engineer with the State of Illinois, 1943. African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary. Greene began her career in architecture in the late 1930s working for the Chicago Housing Authority, and later moved to New York City, where she worked for notable architecture firms, including Marcel Breuers. I remember there was one gal in my class and she was what we called colored girls thenBeverly Greene. Date of Birth / Location: October 4, 1915 / Chicago, Illinois, Date of Death / Location: August 22, 1957 / New York, New York. [3] The following year, she earned her master's degree from UIUC in city planning and housing. Both graduates of Columbia's University's architecture program . Greene was born Milton H. Greengold into a Jewish family in New York City on March 14, 1922. The premise was that better living conditions would improve the companys mortality numbers, thus increasing revenue for the company. An October 1945 society column reported that Greene was planning to start a recording company in Washington, D.C. Dan Butley, Back Door Stuff, New York Amsterdam News, October 20, 1945. It wasnt until 1951, after years of protest and the death of Metropolitan Lifes president, that segregation was finally overruled and black families were permitted to move into the area. The Illinois Distributed Museum is a project of the University Archives and University Library. Beverly Lorraine Greene. In, Woman Architect Blazes a New Trail for Others.. B.L.R. The family was of African-American heritage. Her next projects included buildings at New York University (NYU) which were completed between 1956 and 1961. This record has not been verified for accuracy. Greene went on to work for a number of notable architectural firms. University of Illinois Archives. Greene is also mentioned in an oral history project interview by Rudard Jones, a classmate, who later taught at the university. Beverly Loraine Greene died on August 22, 1957 at age forty-one in New York City. Personal Information. Greenes interest in theater and music would continue after her move to New York City, where nightclub singer and movie actress Lena Horne was reportedly one of Greenes closest friends. She also worked with Edward Durell Stone on the arts complex at Sarah Lawrence College and on a theater at the University of Arkansas in 1952. A minor suggestion: cause of death (at such an early age) and images of her works may be included. During this period, she chaired the planning committee for the Deltas 1940 Annual Jabberwock and a May 1944 three-day Mid-Western Delta Conference. The battle and eventual success inspired an open-housing movement that led to housing discrimination being made illegal nationwide, becoming a landmark in de-segregation and racism in the USA. Greenes optimism stands in contrast to the fact that when she arrived in New York, there were only two prominent black architects with established offices: Vertner Tandy, one of the first black architects to be licensed in New York State, and John L. Wilson, one of his protgs, who had worked on the Harlem River Houses project, a WPA-era housing project in Harlem. Wells Homes, Chicago, 193941, Capitol Theatre, Melbourne, Australia, 1924, Portrait of Mrs. Dunlap Hopkins and Her Office, 1895, Building with Wood exhibition, MOMA, 1944, Building Block, #1,653,771 A, filed March 16, 1926, issued December 27, 1927, Courtyard of Immaculate Heart of Mary Motherhouse, Monroe, Mich., 2003, Fortress La Ferire, Haiti, published in Sibyl Moholy-Nagys, Ambassador Hotel and Apartments, Kansas City, 192425, Hill-Stead the Alfred Pope house (now Hill-Stead Museum), Farmington, Conn., 189807. Greene died at Saint John's Hospital, where he underwent abdominal surgery Aug. 19 for a perforated ulcer. A photo display appearing in the New York Amsterdam News, June 12, 1954, announcing the opening of the new Unity Funeral Home, designed by Beverly Greene. She announced that construction was scheduled to begin in mid-July and take eighteen months to complete, and that two-to-five bedroom apartments would be available for four and five dollars per room per month, respectively.1111Elizabeth Galbreath, Typovision, Chicago Defender, June 24, 1939. Demolition begins on the Gas House District, NY, The cleared Gas House District site, ready for construction to begin on Stuy Town (see header photo). Interesting hook and content. Wells Archival Image & Media Collection The work continued despite numerous obstacles, including labor strikes, lawsuits by white Chicagoans claiming that a black-occupied project close to housing for whites would lower their property values, and contractor objections to labor-intensive construction methods intended to increase employment of black workers. Beverly Loraine Greene. Some black women who had read Greenes interview saw this as evidence of Metropolitan Life Insurances willingness to hire black employees during this period, and they applied for office work. Education: Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, 1936; Master's degree in City Planning and Housing, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, 1937; Masters in Architecture, Columbia University, June 5, 1945. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. Although the company announced that African Americans would not be allowed to live in Stuyvesant Town, Greene took a chance and applied for the project. She moved to New York City in 1945 to work on the planned Stuyvesant Town private housing project in lower Manhattan being built by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company butquit to accept a scholarship at Columbia University, where she studiedurban planning. Beverly Loraine Greene. Duke founded the National Technical Association (NTA) composed of black architects, engineers and scientists. Ironically she had also designed the Unity Funeral Home, the building in which her memorial service was held. The names of other projects were mentioned in published obituaries. In fact, she was one of the first architects hired, perhaps to deflect criticism of the housing policy.1616The companys response, in part, was to develop the Riverton Houses project in Harlem in a demonstration of the separate but equal policy followed by many organizations at the time. She moved to New York City in 1945 to work on the planned Stuyvesant Town private housing project in lower Manhattan being built by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Greene is standing in the second row, third from the left. This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 11:16. Greenes graduation was also noted in an article about student activities at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Chicago Defender (National Edition), June 27, 1936. In our online shop you can buy back issues as well as our other publications and some other of Modernist goodies.. have a look. Regional Planning First Regional Planning Course in the U.S. Mary Louisa Page First Woman to Earn Degree in Architecture, Nathan Clifford Ricker Received First Degree in Architecture in the United States, Beverly Schmidt Blossom Expanding the Boundaries of Dance. in city planning there a year later. Ironically she had also designed the Unity Funeral Home, the building in which her memorial service was held. Wells Homes, Chicago, 193941. Wells housing project. Professional Organizations & Activities: Professional Women's Council Western Society of Engineers; American Society of Planning Officials; Professional Women's Club of Evanston, Illinois. Wells, a journalist and anti-lynching activist.88Want Project Named After Ida B. Wells, Chicago Defender, January 28, 1938. As we honor #BlackHistoryMonth, let us pay tribute to Beverly Loraine Greene, the first African American woman to become a licensed architect in the state of Jarell Chavers LinkedIn: #blackhistorymonth #blackhistorymonth #beverlylorainegreene She received a masters in architecture from Columbia on June 5, 1945. (n.d.). Wells Homes,, Race Architect to Work on $7,000,000 Project,. Greene died while en route to Glenwood Medical Center.". In 1936, she became the first African American woman to receive a bachelors degree in architectural engineering, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, receiving an M.S. In 1964, Wilson folded CANA into the new NYC AIA Economic Opportunities Committee. Her legacy cannot be understated. It was held at the Unity Funeral Home in New York, a structure she helped design. Her career was undoubtedly cut short; we cannot help but wonder what Greene might have gone on to achieve given the numerous barriers she had already broken as an African-American woman. 10.03.23 -13.05.23 She also took on projects with Edward Durell Stone during this period, including the arts complex at Sarah Lawrence College and a theatre facility at the University of Arkansas. To honor Women's History Month, our next installment in A Firm of Her Own Series will highlight famous female architect, Beverly Loraine Greene (1915-1957) - a woman of many firsts. Beverly Loraine Greene is thought to be by most historical accounts as the first African-American woman to be registered as an architect in the United States. Originally known by its WPA assigned name: South Park Garden Housing Project, at the urging of several black civic organizations including the NTA, CCNO and Taylor, the only black commissioner, the project was renamed for Ida B. (2018, September 09). Education: Bachelor of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1929; Master's of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1930. Upon graduation from Columbia, Greene then went on to work for Isadore Rosenfield on the design of healthcare facilities (including Unity Funeral Home in New York where Greenes own memorial service would later be held), a role she stayed in until 1955. Temple Hoyne Buell Hall. The Sweet Corn Society b. Professional Organizations & Activities: First documented African American Woman architect licensed in United States. Fun Fact: Beverly Greene was involved in RSOs (registered student organizations) at UIUC just like current students are today! (n.d.). (n.d.). Greene supported Chicago theater for children by designing and painting sets and designing costumes. U.S. Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Chicago Housing Authority, Ida B. Her memorial service took place at the Unity Funeral Home in Manhattan, one of the buildings she had designed. The family was part of the Great Migration that transformed Chicago starting in 1900; by 1920 more than 85 percent of the black population in Chicago lived within a chain of neighborhoods located on the South Side and known as the Black Belt and Bronzeville. Greene and her parents were listed as mulatto in the 1920 census, at a time when a particular ancestral lineage and difference in skin color warranted a special label. By 2011, the project was demolished. Video now shows Ronald Greene was kicked, dragged and tased by police. U.S. Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. McCathy explained that the architectural work done to date had been of a preliminary nature such as was necessary for the preparation of the application to the United States Housing Authority for the loan and grant including site plan and typical units developments.