Albert Irvin Cassell (1895–1969) was a prominent mid-twentieth-century

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

in Washington, D.C., whose work shaped many academic communities in the United States. He designed buildings for

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

in Washington D.C.,

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known ...

in Baltimore, and

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Richm ...

in Richmond. Cassell also designed and built civic structures for the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Early life

Albert Irvin Cassell was born in

Towson Towson () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltim ...

, Maryland, on June 25, 1895, the third child of Albert Truman Cassell and Charlotte Cassell. His father Albert T. Cassell was a coal truck driver and his mother Charlotte Cassell aka "Lottie" was a laundress. Albert Cassell began his education in the segregated Baltimore public school system, but moved to New York in 1909 where he began attending Douglas High School. At Douglas High, Cassell studied drafting under Ralph Victor Cook. With Cook's assistance, Cassell was admitted to the

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

architecture program in 1915, where he was a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

. After completing two years at Cornell, Cassell's studies were interrupted by service in the US Army in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He served in France, but not in combat, and was honorably discharged in 1919 as a second lieutenant in the 351st Heavy Field Artillery Regiment. In 1919 Cassell was awarded his degree from Cornell University, and began his career working with architect William A. Hazel. In 1920, Mr. Cassell joined in the Architecture Department of

as assistant professor. Just two years later, in 1922, Cassell had become University Architect and head of the Architecture Department at Howard.

Career

Cassell worked at

for eighteen years, serving as an instructor, land manager, surveyor, and architect. Cassell's vision and work helped shape the campus through his "Twenty Year Plan", through which he designed numerous campus buildings. His most important design at Howard, was the Founders Library, a building which evoked both the

Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

revival style and

Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Fa ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. This building would become an architectural and educational symbol for the university. While at Howard, Cassell also designed buildings for other institutional clients. His work included buildings at

, Provident Hospital in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, various Masonic temples, as well as smaller works for select commercial and residential clients. Following his time at

, Cassell went on to design several buildings for Morgan State College (now

) in Baltimore. In his later years he joined with other African-American architects to form the firm of Cassell, Gray & Sutton. He went on to work for several other large clients such as the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the District of Columbia and the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, P ...

and the government of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. As his final project, Cassell sought to develop Chesapeake Heights on the Bay, a summer resort community for African-Americans in Prince Frederick,

Calvert County Calvert County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 92,783. Its county seat is Prince Frederick. The county's name is derived from the family name of the Barons of Baltimore, the proprietors of t ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The project was to feature houses, a motel, shopping centers, a pier, a marina, beaches, and a clubhouse fronting the Chesapeake Bay. Roads and a few homes were built by 1969, but the project ended with Cassell's death in that same year.

Legacy

At a young age Albert Cassell determined that his children would all go to Cornell and all become architects. Cassell had 8 children. Four children would attended Cornell; Charles Cassell ('46), Martha Cassell ('47)

Alberta Jeannette Cassell Alberta Jeannette Cassell (November 22, 1926 – October 24, 2007), was an African American architect who worked for the United States Navy, and a children's book author. She was also known by the name Alberta Jeannette Cassell Butler. Early lif ...

('48) Paula Cassell ('76). Of the Cornell graduates, all but Paula became architects.

Works

Two of Cassell's Washington, DC works, the

Mayfair Mansions Apartments Mayfair Mansions Apartments are historic structures in the Mayfair neighborhood of the Northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. The garden apartments were built between 1942 and 1946 and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1 ...

and the Prince Hall Masonic Temple, are listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Gallery

File:Mayfair Mansons DC.jpg, alt=The Mayfair Mansions-an apartment complex located at 3819 Jay St., NE, Washington, DC, Mayfair Mansions-an apartment complex located at 3819 Jay St., NE, Washington, DC File:Founders Library, Howard University.jpg, The Founders Library — at Howard University, Washington, D.C. File:Prince Hall Masonic Temple.jpg, The Prince Hall Masonic Temple located at 1000 U Street, NW in the U Street Corridor of Washington, D.C.

References

* Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (ed.), ''African-American Architects : A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945''. New York: Routledge, 2004. * "Albert Cassell", Roper Library, Morgan State University Archives, manuscript collection.

External links

Albert I. Cassell & The Founders Library: A Brief History (Howard University)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassell (architect), Albert 1895 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American architects Architects from Maryland Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni African-American architects People from Towson, Maryland United States Army personnel of World War I Howard University faculty 20th-century African-American artists