Walter T. Bailey
Encyclopedia
Walter Thomas Bailey was an African-American architect from Kewanee, Illinois
. He was the first African American graduate with a bachelor of science degree in architectural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. He worked at the Tuskegee Institute, and practiced in both Memphis and Chicago.
, where he attended Kewanee High School
. He enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
in 1900. Bailey was the first African-American graduate of the University of Illinois' School of Architecture with a bachelor of science
in architectural engineering
. He earned that degree in 1904 and was granted an honorary
master's degree
in architecture from the university in 1910.
. Initially, after he graduated, Bailey worked for a small architectural firm owned by Harry Eckland in his hometown of Kewanee. During this time he also worked for a Champaign, Illinois
firm, Spencer & Temple. Bailey assisted in the planning of the 1905 Colonel Wolfe School in Champaign during this period.
In 1905 Bailey was appointed as the head of the Mechanical Industries Department at the Tuskegee Institute. While at Tuskegee, Bailey designed several campus buildings including White Hall (1908), and a girl's dormitory. He remained at Tuskegee until 1916 when he moved to Memphis
and opened a practice on Beale Street
. After Bailey's move to Memphis he began the first of multiple commissions for the Knights of Pythias
. He designed the Mosaic State Temple Building and the Pythian Theater Building, both in Little Rock in 1922. The next year he undertook another Arkansas
commission, this one in Hot Springs
, the Pythian Bath House and Sanitarium.
Through his Knights of Pythias connections Bailey was given what would be the largest commission of his career, the National Knights of Pythias Temple in Chicago, Illinois. Construction began on the building in 1924 and Bailey moved his office to the city. The site of the temple was on Chicago's south side in an area known as "Bronzeville" or "Black Metropolis"
. Bailey first rented an office on the second floor of the Overton Hygienic Building
on South State Street
. Construction on the National Knights of Pythias Temple proceeded slowly and by 1928 the interior of the building remained unfinished. Though the Knights of Pythias eventually lost ownership of the building, Bailey did maintain his office in the structure after its completion.
Aside from the Knights of Pythias Temple in Chicago Bailey had few major commissions during the 1920s and the subsequent Great Depression greatly decreased business for Bailey and many other black entrepreneurs in the area. The last major project for Bailey was the Chicago Landmark
art moderne First Church of Deliverance
in 1939.
Kewanee, Illinois
Kewanee is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for prairie chicken, which lekked there. The population was 12,916 at the 2010 census, down from 12,944 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. He was the first African American graduate with a bachelor of science degree in architectural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. He worked at the Tuskegee Institute, and practiced in both Memphis and Chicago.
Early life and Education
Walter Thomas Bailey was born January 11, 1882 in Kewanee, IllinoisKewanee, Illinois
Kewanee is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for prairie chicken, which lekked there. The population was 12,916 at the 2010 census, down from 12,944 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, where he attended Kewanee High School
Kewanee High School
Kewanee High School, or KHS, is a public four-year high school located at 1211 E. Third Street in Kewanee, Illinois, a city in Kewanee Township of Henry County, Illinois, in the Midwestern United States...
. He enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
in 1900. Bailey was the first African-American graduate of the University of Illinois' School of Architecture with a bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in architectural engineering
Architectural engineering
Architectural engineering, also known as building engineering, is the application of engineering principles and technology to building design and construction...
. He earned that degree in 1904 and was granted an honorary
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in architecture from the university in 1910.
Architectural career
Bailey was the first licensed African-American architect in the state of IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Initially, after he graduated, Bailey worked for a small architectural firm owned by Harry Eckland in his hometown of Kewanee. During this time he also worked for a Champaign, Illinois
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
firm, Spencer & Temple. Bailey assisted in the planning of the 1905 Colonel Wolfe School in Champaign during this period.
In 1905 Bailey was appointed as the head of the Mechanical Industries Department at the Tuskegee Institute. While at Tuskegee, Bailey designed several campus buildings including White Hall (1908), and a girl's dormitory. He remained at Tuskegee until 1916 when he moved to Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and opened a practice on Beale Street
Beale Street
Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are...
. After Bailey's move to Memphis he began the first of multiple commissions for the Knights of Pythias
Knights of Pythias
The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded at Washington, DC, on 19 February 1864.The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone, who had been...
. He designed the Mosaic State Temple Building and the Pythian Theater Building, both in Little Rock in 1922. The next year he undertook another Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
commission, this one in Hot Springs
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
, the Pythian Bath House and Sanitarium.
Through his Knights of Pythias connections Bailey was given what would be the largest commission of his career, the National Knights of Pythias Temple in Chicago, Illinois. Construction began on the building in 1924 and Bailey moved his office to the city. The site of the temple was on Chicago's south side in an area known as "Bronzeville" or "Black Metropolis"
Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District
Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District or simply Bronzeville is a historic district in the Douglas community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It includes nine structures that were accorded the Chicago Landmark designation on September 9, 1998...
. Bailey first rented an office on the second floor of the Overton Hygienic Building
Overton Hygienic Building
The Overton Hygienic Building is a Chicago Landmark and part of the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District in the Douglas community area of Chicago, Illinois. It is located at 3619-3627 State Street....
on South State Street
State Street (Chicago)
State Street is a large south-north street in Chicago, Illinois, USA and its south suburbs. It begins on the Near North Side at North Avenue. For much of its course, it lies between Wabash Avenue on the east and Dearborn Street/Lafayette Avenue on the west...
. Construction on the National Knights of Pythias Temple proceeded slowly and by 1928 the interior of the building remained unfinished. Though the Knights of Pythias eventually lost ownership of the building, Bailey did maintain his office in the structure after its completion.
Aside from the Knights of Pythias Temple in Chicago Bailey had few major commissions during the 1920s and the subsequent Great Depression greatly decreased business for Bailey and many other black entrepreneurs in the area. The last major project for Bailey was the Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural,...
art moderne First Church of Deliverance
First Church of Deliverance
First Church of Deliverance is a landmark church located at 4315 South Wabash Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The church was built in 1939 by Walter T. Bailey, and two towers were added to it in 1946 by Kocher, Buss & DeKlerk. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 5, 1994....
in 1939.
Death
Walter T. Bailey died on February 21, 1941 from pneumonia and complications caused by heart disease. Obituatries at the time stated he was working on two projects when he died. One was the Olivet Baptist Church, the other was reportedly the Ida B. Wells Homes but that work was probably in a secondary capacity.Selected works
- 1905 – Colonel Wolfe School, Champaign, Illinois
- 1906 – Alabama Agricultural Fair Negro Building, Montgomery, AlabamaMontgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
- 1922 – Mosaic State Temple Building, Little Rock, Arkansas
- 1922–1923 – Pythian Theater Building, Little Rock, Arkansas
- 1923 – Pythian Bath House and Sanitarium, Hot Springs, Arkansas
- 1924 – Fraternal Savings and Trust Bank, Memphis, Tennessee
- 1924 – Knights of Pythias Building, Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
- 1924 – Woodmen of Union Bath HouseBathhouse RowBathhouse Row is a collection of bathhouses, associated buildings, and gardens located at Hot Springs National Park in the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas...
, Hot Springs, Arkansas - 1924–1928 – National Knights of Pythias Temple, Chicago, Illinois
- 1928 – Momence Country Club, Momence, IllinoisMomence, IllinoisMomence is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,171 at the 2000 census, and 3,063 in 2009. It is part of the Kankakee–Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Chicago–Naperville–Michigan City, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical...
(plans only) - 1929 – Mt. Moriah Lodge No. 28 Free and Accepted Masons, Evanston, IllinoisEvanston, IllinoisEvanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
- 1939 – First Church of DeliveranceFirst Church of DeliveranceFirst Church of Deliverance is a landmark church located at 4315 South Wabash Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The church was built in 1939 by Walter T. Bailey, and two towers were added to it in 1946 by Kocher, Buss & DeKlerk. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on October 5, 1994....
, Chicago, Illinois - 1940 – Ida B. Wells Homes, Chicago, Illinois
- 1941 – Olivet Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois
Further reading
- Kriz, Mikael David. "Walter T. Bailey and the African-American Patron", (Google Books link) Master's Thesis, Art History Program, School of Art and Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignThe University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, 2002.
External links
- "Biking the Boulevards", with Geoffrey Baer, WTTWWTTWWTTW channel 11 is one of three Public Broadcasting Service member public television stations serving the Chicago, Illinois market; the others are WYCC and WYIN. WTTW began broadcasting on September 6, 1955 and it is owned and operated by Window to the World Communications, Inc., a not-for-profit...
, PBS, accessed November 30, 2010.