The Chappelle Administration Building, on the campus of Allen University in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

, was designed by

John Anderson Lankford John A. Lankford (December 4, 1874 – July 2, 1946), American architect. He was the first professionally licensed African American architect in Virginia in 1922 and in the District of Columbia in 1924. He has been regarded as the "dean of black ...

, known as the "dean of black architects." The building name has been spelled Chapelle Administration Building in HABS and NPS reports. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1976, cited as one Lankford's most important works. In addition to its National Register of Historic Places status, the Administration Building falls within the boundaries of Waverly Protection Area, a Preservation District within the City of Columbia Urban Design and Historic Preservation District system. This Preservation District is an expansion of Waverly Historic District.

Description and history

The Allen University campus is located northeast of downtown Columbia, centered in a block bounded by Taylor, Harden, Pine, and Hampton Streets. The Chappelle Building is set at the northwestern corner of this block, facing Harden Street. It is a -story masonry structure, built out of red brick with stone trim, and has a slate roof with a reproduction of its original cupola (destroyed by lightning in 1974) on top, and five gabled dormers. The main facade is fourteen bays wide, with a three-arched single-story porch extending across the middle six bays. The porch is topped by a low balustrade, and there is a pedimented entrance to the upper level of the porch on the second floor. Windows on the lower two levels have stone keystones, and there are panels of garlands between the second and third levels. Allen University was founded in 1870, and established its campus in Columbia in 1880. This Colonial Revival building, which still plays a prominent role in the campus, was built 1922–25 to a design by

(1874–1946) for the then-substantial sum of $165,000. Lankford rose from humble beginnings to earn degrees in mechanical engineering at the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

. While his training included drafting, it did not include architectural design. At various university positions (mainly with predominantly African-American schools), he was called on to design buildings, eventually leading to his appointment as the chief architect of the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...

(AME) in 1908. The Chappelle Administration Building is one of his major works. The building is named in honour of Bishop

William D. Chappelle William David Chappelle (November 16, 1857 – June 15, 1925) was an American educationalist and bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Chappelle served as president of Allen University, a Historically black colleges and universities, ...

, who was the university's president from 1898 to 1899.

References

External links

*
Chapelle Administration Building, Richland County (Allen University, 1530 Harden St., Columbia)
at South Carolina Department of Archives and History * {{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Historic American Buildings Survey in South Carolina National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Columbia, South Carolina Office buildings completed in 1922 Allen University African-American history of South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Columbia, South Carolina University and college administration buildings in the United States University and college buildings completed in 1922 1922 establishments in South Carolina Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in South Carolina Colonial Revival architecture in South Carolina

Description and history

See also

References

External links