Egyptian-inspired terra cotta detail from a long lost
Bronzeville building.
The National Pythian Temple Building was a
benchmark in black American achievement; built in
1926 in a golden age of firsts, triumphs and notable
feats by a race of people barely six decades
removed from slavery.
The seven-story corner building at 38th and State
was built for the Knights of Pythias, an African-
American fraternal order and was designed by
Walter Thomas Bailey, Illinois' first black licensed
architect. He produced a handsome office building
at a time when State Street south of 35th was so
crowded with prosperous African American-owned
businesses, the thoroughfare was dubbed "the
black Wall Street."
Most notable: the terra cotta facade of the building
was graced with a multitude of Egyptian forms---
African forms, to put a finer point on it---and
detailing. There were depictions of desert flowers,
deity and pharaohs. Yes, in the 1920s King Tut's
tomb and all things Egypt were the rage. Still, the
importance of African Americans choosing this
motif cannot be overstated: It was black people---
children of the diaspora---using architecture to
publicly lay claim to African heritage. And it was
black talent expressing itself in design and finding
a voice in architecture, just as it had done with
music, words and dance.
It was revolutionary in 1926. Sadly, it's a rarity in
2006.
Last month, Marshall E. Purnell was elected the
next president of the American Institute of
Architects. Purnell is a black architect, which makes
him a double minority: Black people make up 20
percent of the nation's population, but only about
1.5 percent of the country's licensed architects. In
an excellent Q&A with writer Sam Lubell in
Architectural Record, Purnell raises thought-
provoking points about the need for diversity within
architectural ranks---and what the lack of diversity
has cost the industry.
"If architecture is still music frozen in time, then
we're doing classical music," Purnell told
Architectural Record. "There’s no R&B, no jazz, no
rap. What kind of architecture would a Miles Davis
have given us? What kind of architecture would
Duke Ellington have given us? When you look at
who is contributing to the architectural fabric of
American it’s often boring. It’s the same old, same
old. What kind of architecture would Jay-Z give us if
he got turned on by that creative mode? We need
clients who are looking for those creative modes."
We also need schools and a structure within the
industry that can recognize and give voice to an
architectural Jay-Z, Spike Lee, Terrence Blanchard,
Audra McDonald or Mary J. Blige, for that matter,
but Purnell's point is well-taken. Black people have
shaped the cultural landscape of America--and thus
the world---through blues, jazz, soul, hip-hop. Kids in
Holland and across the world wear the jerseys of
black NBA stars. The influence has stretched into
advertising, fashion and even automobile design
(can I get a holler for that new Chrysler 300?).
Imagine if the same influences were consistently
brought to bear in architecture, engineering, urban
planning and landscape design? Imagine the new
forms, innovative uses of materials and novel
spaces that would come out of it.
The National Pythian temple could stand as a
reminder of that message. And in a profound way, it
does. The building was demolished in 1980,
leaving a vacant lot that still exists. Pieces of the
terra cotta, including the face in the photo above,
were fashioned into planters that can be seen in
front of the O'Hara Gallery on the 700-block of North
Wells in the River North area.
Bailey and the Pythians put a lifetime of talent and
sacrifice into that building and today, chunks of it
sit on sidelines where it is occasionally seen, but
ultimately ignored. The diversity issue in
architecture can't suffer the same fate.
