Wikipedia

Louis Edwin Fry Sr.

"Louis Fry" redirects here. For the British politician, see Lewis Fry. For the American politician, see Louis Frey Jr.

Louis Edwin Fry Sr., FAIA, NOMA[1] (1903–2000) was an American architect and professor.[2][3] He was a former chair of the department of architecture at Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C..[4] Fry was a registered architect in Alabama, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.[5] He was known for his college and university campus architectural designs. Fry primarily worked at HBUs and state school designing buildings and campus plans, such as Prairie View A&M University; Howard University; Tuskegee University; Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama; and Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. Fry was a founding member of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA).[1] He was a partner in the architectural firm of Fry & Welch.

Louis Edwin Fry Sr.
Born
Louis Edwin Fry

January 10, 1903
Bastrop, Texas, U.S.
DiedJune 10, 2000(2000-06-10) (aged 97)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
EducationPrairie View State College,
Kansas State University,
Harvard University
Occupation(s)Architect, professor, department chair
Years active1927–c. 1972
SpouseObelia E. Swearingen (m. 1927–2000; death)
Children2, including Gladys-Marie Fry
AwardsAIA DC Centennial Award (1995)

Early life and education

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Louis Edwin Fry Sr. was born on January 10, 1903, in Bastrop, Texas.[5] His parents were Pleasant Ann and Henry Bowers Fry, he had one older brother.[5] He attended Emile High School, a segregated Black high school and graduated from the 12th grade at the age of 15.[5]

Fry attended Prairie View State College (now Prairie View A&M University), and graduated in 1922 with a B.S. degree in mechanical arts.[5] He continued his studies at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, where he received B.S. degree (1927) in architectural engineering,[6] and M.S. architecture (1929); and later returned to classes at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, where he received a M.Arch. degree (1945).[5] While attending Kansas State University graduate school, Fry was a member of Phi Beta Kappa; and he received the Lorentz Schmidt Award for his draftsmanship and an award from the AIA.[7]

In 1927, Fry married Obelia E. Swearingen from Kansas City.[4] Together they had two children; Louis Jr., who became and architect, and Gladys-Marie, an academic of folklore.[4]

Career

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After graduating from Kansas State University's undergraduate program in 1927, Fry worked at Prairie View State College in Prairie View, Texas teaching engineering and math.[5] He designed a Prairie View State College new campus dormitory for women called Evans Hall (1927), and a fifty bed hospital (1929, demolished in 1980).[5] He was the second African-American licensed to practice architecture in the state of Texas.[5]

After completing his master's at Kansas State University, Fry was hired as a senior designer by architect Albert Irvin Cassell, replacing Hilyard Robert Robinson on Howard University projects.[5] He completed the Howard University women's dormitory project, started by Robinson.[5] Other buildings at Howard University he worked on included the Douglas Hall classroom building, the Founders Library, the Chemistry Building, a power plant, the university entrance gate, and the campus master plan.[5] Fry left Cassell's office after receiving and offer to teach from Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1935.[5]

Fry was appointed as the first chair of the architecture department at Tuskegee Institute, a newly formed department.[5] Architecture was not a new field to the school, it had been taught since 1893, but Tuskegee Institute had reorganized the department structure.[5] Fry worked on planning for department accreditation, and completed a campus master plan.[5] While at Tuskegee Institute, Fry also worked to design nine buildings at Alabama State College (now Alabama State University) in Montgomery, including a library building.[5][8] Fry left Tuskegee after receiving an offer in 1940 as campus architect from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri.[5]

At Lincoln University, he designed the Journalism Building and the Page Library. In 1983, the Page Library was added as a contributing building to the "Lincoln Univ. Hilltop Campus Historic District", listed in the National Registrar of Historic Places in Cole County, Missouri.[9][10] Fry finished designing the campus master plan working alongside Charles Edgar Dickinson.[5] He took a sabbatical and enrolled in Harvard University's Graduate School of Design in 1944, working under Walter Gropius.[5] When he graduated in 1945, he was the first Black graduate from the master's degree program in architecture.[5] He briefly worked under Marcel Breuer as a draftsman, before returning to Lincoln University.[5]

From 1947 until 1972, Fry worked as faculty at Howard University in Washington, D.C., while maintaining his private architectural practice (which included designing for other school campuses).[5] Howard Hamilton Mackey Sr. served as the department chair at Howard University during his hire.[5] Fry worked in helping the department achieve accreditation.[5] He maintained his private architectural practice as a sole proprietor until 1954, when Fry partnered with John Austin Welch to form Fry & Welch.[5] Fry & Welch designed 16 campus buildings in 5 states, and roughly a third of the campus for Tuskegee Institute.[5] The partnership lasted until 1969.[5]

In 1960, his son Louis Jr. joined his firm and helped him design in Washington, D.C.[5] Throughout his career he maintained teaching at the college level.[5] In 1967, Fry was named a fellow by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).[5] He was a member of the Washington, D.C. Board of Examiners and Registrar.[5]

Death and legacy

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Fry died from viral pneumonia on June 10, 2000, at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C..[4] He was survived by his wife of 73 years and two children.[4] His son Louis Jr. died of complications from cancer a few years later, in 2006.[11]

Fry mentored hundreds of African American architecture students. Fry's profile was included in the biographical dictionary African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865–1945 (2004). The Kansas State University, Morse Department of Special Collections contains an archive named Louis Fry (folder 21).[12]

Awards

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  • 1966, Distinguished Service Award, Kansas State University[13]
  • 1967, College of Fellows, American Institute of Architects (AIA)[13]
  • 1995, Centennial Award, American Institute of Architects D.C. Chapter

Work

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  • Mt. Carmel Apartments Housing (1960), Washington, D.C.
  • Dr. James C. Grey House (1962), Washington, D.C.
  • Dr. Stephen Davis House (1962), Washington, D.C.
  • United House of Prayer (1964), Washington, D.C.
  • Montana Terrance Public Housing (1965), Washington, D.C.
  • Phelps High School greenhouse (1965), 704 26th Street NE, Washington, D.C.
  • Fort Lincoln Elementary School (1967), 3100 Ft. Lincoln Drive NW, Washington, D.C.; now known as Marshall Elementary School
  • Takoma Elementary School (1968), 7010 Piney Branch Road NW, Washington, D.C.
  • Marie Reed Elementary School, 2200 Champlain Street NW, Washington, D.C.

Campus-based design work

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  • Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas
    • Womens Dormitory (1928), Prairie View A&M University; now called Evans Hall
    • Hospital (1929), Prairie View A&M University; demolished
    • Gym (1929), Prairie View A&M University; demolished
  • Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama
    • Infantile Paralysis Hospital (1940), Tuskegee University
    • Food Processing Plant (1954), Tuskegee University
    • Chapel (1960), Tuskegee University; as associate architect
    • Andrews Hospital alterations (1962), Tuskegee University
    • School of Nursing (1962), Tuskegee University
    • Womens Dormitory (1962), Tuskegee University
    • Moton Hall, Tuskegee University
    • Vocational Building, Tuskegee University
  • Alabama State University, Montgomery, Alabama
    • Arena/Auditorium (1954), Alabama State College
    • Classroom Building (1954), Alabama State College
    • Library addition (1962), Alabama State College
    • Science Building (1962), Alabama State College
    • Swimming Pool Building (1962), Alabama State College
    • Dining Hall, Alabama State College
    • Mens Dormitory, Alabama State College
  • Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri
    • Irving Clifford Tull Mens Dormitory (or Tull Hall) (1951), Lincoln University[14][15]
    • Page Library (1954), Lincoln University; NRHP-listed as part of the Lincoln Univ. Hilltop Campus Historic District
    • Journalism Building, Lincoln University
    • Womens Dormitory, Lincoln University
  • Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland
    • Classroom Building, Morgan State University

Bibliography

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  • Fry, Louis Edwin (1981). Louis Edwin Fry, Sr: His Life and His Architecture. L.E. Fry.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Howard, Annie (October 27, 2022). "Rediscovering NOMA's 'Forgotten' Founding Members". Architect Magazine.
  2. ^ "Louis E. Fry, Sr., FAIA: The recent deaths of individuals at the forefront of architectural practice, education, and theory will be felt worldwide". Architectural Record. 188 (8). New York City, NY: 32. August 2000. ProQuest 222134005 – via ProQuest.
  3. ^ "Race No Great Handicap, Says Lincoln U. Architect". The Lincoln Clarion. December 11, 1942. p. 2. Retrieved September 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Architect Louis Fry Sr". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (March 2004). "Louis Edwin Fry Sr. (1903–2000)". African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. Routledge. pp. 217–221. ISBN 978-1-135-95629-5.
  6. ^ "College Commencement Honors Awarded to 422". The Kansas Industrialist. June 8, 1927. p. 4. Retrieved September 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "K.U. Student Gets Award". The Northwest Enterprise. June 3, 1927. p. 1. Retrieved September 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Imposing New Library Rises At State Teacher's College". The Montgomery Advertiser. July 27, 1947. p. 31. Retrieved September 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Lincoln Univ. Hilltop Campus Historic District". NPGallery, Digital Asset Management System.
  10. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Lincoln Univ. Hilltop Campus Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved September 8, 2023. With accompanying pictures
  11. ^ Holley, Joe (March 21, 2006). "Louis Fry Jr., 77". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  12. ^ "Folder 21: Louis Fry". Morse Department of Special Collections, Kansas State University. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Recognition won by KSU alumni". The Manhattan Mercury. July 8, 1968. p. 2. Retrieved September 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Tull Hall Presented At 85th Founders' Day Program". The Lincoln Clarion. January 17, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved September 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Students Move Into Tull Hall". The Call. February 16, 1951. p. 3. Retrieved September 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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