# Wallace Rayfield

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{{short description|American architect (1874–1941)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Wallace Augustus Rayfield
| image              = File:W. A. Rayfield.png
| other_names        = W. A. Rayfield,<br /> Wallace A. Rayfield
| birth_date         = May 10, 1874
| birth_place        = Bibb County, Georgia, U.S.
| death_date         = February 28, 1941
| death_place        = U.S.
| education          = 
| alma_mater         = [Howard University](/source/Howard_University) ([BS](/source/BS_degree)),<br /> [Pratt Institute](/source/Pratt_Institute),<br /> [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) ([B. Arch](/source/Bachelor_of_Architecture))
| occupation         = Architect, educator
| known_for          = Second formally educated practicing African American architect in the U.S.
}}
'''Wallace Augustus Rayfield''' (1874–1941), also known as '''W.A. Rayfield''', was an American architect and educator.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dozier |first=Richard K. |date=2006 |title=African-Americans in Architecture |url=http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/904/Black_architects_have_a_rich_American_history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208063633/http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/904/Black_architects_have_a_rich_American_history |archive-date=2009-02-08 |website=African American Registry (AAREG)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1994-12-07 |title=Rayfield's architecture dotted U.S., South Africa |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram-rayfields-arch/170836579/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |work=[Fort Worth Star-Telegram](/source/Fort_Worth_Star-Telegram) |pages=29 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> He was the second formally educated practicing [African American](/source/African_American) architect in the [United States](/source/United_States_of_America).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ward |first=Logan |date=January 2011 |title=Rediscovering Mr. Rayfield: The legacy of a pioneering African American architect is being restored by an indefatigable Southern Baptist preacher |url=http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2011/january-february/rediscovering-mr-rayfield.html |journal=[Preservation](/source/Preservation_(magazine)) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826011013/http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2011/january-february/rediscovering-mr-rayfield.html |archive-date=2012-08-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Craven |first=Jackie |date=November 10, 2019 |title=Black Architects After the Civil War |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/african-american-architects-builders-of-america-177886 |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Wallace Augustus Rayfield was born around May 10, 1874 in [Bibb County](/source/Bibb_County%2C_Georgia) near [Macon, Georgia](/source/Macon%2C_Georgia).<ref name="Wilson-2004">{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Dreck Spurlock |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0OaSAgAAQBAJ |title=African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945 |date=March 2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-95629-5 |pages=50, 474–477 |language=en}}</ref> Rayfield attended schools in [Macon, Georgia](/source/Macon%2C_Georgia) before moving to Washington, D.C. to live with his aunt after the death of his mother.<ref name="Wilson-2004" />

He was an apprentice at an architectural firm A. B. Mullett and Co. while attending [Howard University](/source/Howard_University) in Washington, D.C.<ref name="Wilson-2004" /> Rayfield received a B.S. degree in 1896 in [classics](/source/classics) from Howard University.<ref name="Wilson-2004" /> He then completed a graduate certificate in 1898 from [Pratt Institute](/source/Pratt_Institute), before earning his [bachelor of architecture](/source/Bachelor_of_Architecture) (B. Arch) in architecture from [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) in 1899.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 December 2014 |title=Wallace Rayfield - Alabama African American History |url=http://alafricanamerican.com/2012-honorees/wallace-rayfield/}}</ref> 

==Career==
alt=W. A. Rayfield & Co., Architects advertisement, 1917|thumb|W. A. Rayfield & Co., Architects advertisement, 1917
Upon graduation, he was recruited by [Booker T. Washington](/source/Booker_T._Washington) to the role Directorship of the Architectural and Mechanical Drawing Department at [Tuskegee Institute](/source/Tuskegee_Institute) (now Tuskegee University) in Tuskegee, Alabama. His students included [William Sidney Pittman](/source/William_Sidney_Pittman), and [Vertner Woodson Tandy](/source/Vertner_Woodson_Tandy).<ref name="Historic Site">[http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagsere/se1/se5/018000/018800/018833/pdf/msa_se5_18833.pdf "W. Sidney and Portia Washington Pittman House, Prince George's County, Historic Site Summary Sheet: Section 8: Significance.]</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Weiss |first=Ellen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGYKEFz8Cd0C |title=Robert R. Taylor and Tuskegee: An African American Architect Designs for Booker T. Washington |date=2012-01-01 |publisher=NewSouth Books |isbn=9781588382481}}</ref>

In 1907, Rayfield opened a professional office in Tuskegee, Alabama from which he sold mail-order plans nationwide. He also advertised "branch offices" in [Birmingham](/source/Birmingham%2C_Alabama), [Montgomery](/source/Montgomery%2C_Alabama), [Mobile](/source/Mobile%2C_Alabama) and [Talladega, Alabama](/source/Talladega%2C_Alabama) and [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta%2C_Georgia), [Savannah](/source/Savannah%2C_Georgia), Macon and [Augusta, Georgia](/source/Augusta%2C_Georgia). He left Tuskegee Institute and moved to Birmingham, Alabama in 1908 to focus on his young practice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=G. P. (Green Polonius) |url=https://archive.org/details/beaconlightsofra00lchami/page/450/mode/2up?q=Rayfield |title=Beacon Lights of the Race |date=1911 |publisher=Memphis, E. H. Clarke & brother |others=The Library of Congress |pages=451 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> He was elected as Superintending Architect for the [Freedman's Aid Society](/source/Freedman's_Aid_Society), and Connectional Architect of the [African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church](/source/African_Methodist_Episcopal_Zion_Church).

He died on February 28, 1941.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1941-03-07 |title=A Great Man Passes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-weekly-review-a-great-man-passes/170836805/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |work=The Weekly Review |pages=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

==Notable work==
* Birmingham Art Club (1908), [Birmingham, Alabama](/source/Birmingham%2C_Alabama)<ref name="Wilson-2004" />
* Dr. Arthur M. Brown Residence (1908), 319-4th Terrace, Birmingham, Alabama; demolished<ref name="Wilson-2004" />
* Sixth Avenue Baptist Church (1909), 1531-6th Avenue, Birmingham, Alabama<ref name="Wilson-2004" />
* [16th Street Baptist Church](/source/16th_Street_Baptist_Church) (1911), [Birmingham, Alabama](/source/Birmingham%2C_Alabama)<ref name="Wilson-2004" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sixteenth Street Baptist Church |url=https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/AL-01-073-0050 |website=SAH Archipedia}}</ref>
* [People's A.M.E. Zion Church](/source/People's_African_Methodist_Episcopal_Zion_Church) (1911), [Syracuse, New York](/source/Syracuse%2C_New_York) 
* T.C. Windham Construction Company Office Building (1912), Birmingham, Alabama
*[Alabama Penny Savings Bank](/source/Alabama_Penny_Savings_Bank)/Knights of Pythian Temple Building (1913), Birmingham, Alabama<ref name="Wilson-2004" />
*R. A. Blount Residence (1914), 322-6th Avenue North, Birmingham, Alabama<ref name="Wilson-2004" />
* 32nd Street Baptist Church (1924), Birmingham, Alabama<ref>{{Cite web |last=Historic American Buildings Survey |title=Thirty-Second Street Baptist Church, 518 Thirty-second Street, South, Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/al1215/ |access-date=2022-07-10 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref>
* Antioch Baptist Church (1926), 956 W. 9th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio<ref name="Wilson-2004" /> 
* Trinity Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama
* Harmony Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama
* Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church, Birmingham, Alabama
* [Ebenezer Baptist Church](/source/Ebenezer_Baptist_Church_(Chicago)), [Chicago, Illinois](/source/Chicago%2C_Illinois)<ref name="Wilson-2004" />
* St Paul's Episcopal Church, [Batesville, Arkansas](/source/Batesville%2C_Arkansas)
* Trinity Building, South Africa
* Mt. Zion Baptist Church, [Pensacola, Florida](/source/Pensacola%2C_Florida)
* Morning Star Baptist Church, [Demopolis, Alabama](/source/Demopolis%2C_Alabama)
* Marlinton Methodist Church, [Marlinton, West Virginia](/source/Marlinton%2C_West_Virginia)
* Marlinton Presbyterian Church, [Marlinton, West Virginia](/source/Marlinton%2C_West_Virginia)
* Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, [Milton, Florida](/source/Milton%2C_Florida)
* Madame Clisby Residence, Birmingham, Alabama
* Rocky Springs Presbyterian Church, Laurens, South Carolina
* First Missionary Baptist Church, Decatur, Alabama
* Pythian Temple Building, Cotton Avenue, Macon, Georgia
*[St. Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church](/source/St._Luke_AME_Church), Birmingham, Alabama
*First Congregational Church (now part of [Talladega College](/source/Talladega_College)), Talladega, Alabama<ref name="Wilson-2004" />
*Dorms at [Haven Institute and Conservatory of Music](/source/Haven_Institute_and_Conservatory_of_Music), Meridian, Mississippi<ref name="Wilson-2004" /> 

==See also==
* [Robert R. Taylor](/source/Robert_Robinson_Taylor), the first professionally trained African American architect in the U.S.
* [African-American architects](/source/African-American_architects)

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Hamilton, G. P. (1911) "W. A. Rayfield, B. S., Birmingham, Ala." in ''[https://archive.org/details/beaconlightsofra00lchami Beacon Lights of the Race]''. Memphis, E. H. Clarke & Brother, pp.&nbsp;451–7
* Brown, Charles A. (1972) ''W. A. Rayfield: Pioneer Black Architect of Birmingham, Ala.'' Birmingham: Gray Printing Company
* McKenzie, Vinson. (Fall 1993) "[http://rl.blacklabmedia.com/site/site/history.html A Pioneering African-American Architect in Alabama: Wallace A. Rayfield, 1874–1941]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}." ''Journal of the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art & Architecture.'' Vol. 13
* Durough, Allan R. (2010) ''The Architectural Legacy of Wallace A. Rayfield: Pioneer Black Architect of Birmingham, Alabama.'' Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press {{ISBN|978-0-8173-1683-9}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120316153025/http://www.wallacearayfield.com/index.htm Wallace A. Rayfield] site by Allen R. Durough at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) archived (March 16, 2012)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayfield, Wallace}}
Category:1874 births
Category:1941 deaths
Category:20th-century American architects
Category:20th-century African-American people
Category:African-American architects
Category:Artists from Birmingham, Alabama
Category:Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni
Category:People from Macon, Georgia
Category:Pratt Institute alumni

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wallace Rayfield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Rayfield) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Rayfield?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.