Book Description

"Ellen Weiss breaks important new ground in her remarkable monograph on Robert R. Taylor. This volume is by far the most detailed account we have of an African American architect. Weiss vividly conveys the immense challenges faced by black architects and professionals of every kind, especially during the rise of Jim Crow. Along the way we get myriad insights on architectural education, architect-client relationships, and the development of a major institution of higher learning."--- Richard Longstreth, George Washington University "Architectural historian Ellen Weiss's book provides a wealth of little-known factual information about Taylor and a scholarly historical analysis of his many contributions in architectural education and professional practice. A must-read for anyone with an interest in architecture and a certain reference for every architecture student."--- Richard Dozier, Dean, Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture & Construction Science, Tuskegee University "Robert R. Taylor's place in history as the first academically-trained African American architect has been well known, but an authoritative assessment of his contribution to American architectural and planning practice has remained elusive until now. Weiss deftly interweaves the story of the Tuskegee campus with an examination of Taylor's pedagogy and the plight of black architects in the early twentieth century."--- Gary Van Zante, Curator of Architecture and Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology