Founders Church of Religious Science to Receive Grant Funding from Conserving Black Modernism Initiative

Five new buildings across the United States, including Founders Church of Religious Science in Los Angeles, will receive funding from the Conserving Black Modernism initiative, a grant program to preserve historic modern buildings created by Black architects and designers, officials announced Tuesday.

The announcement was made by the Getty Foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Getty funding will support preservation plans for the buildings, bolster the skills of professionals who care for them, promote community engagement and increase public awareness of the pioneering Black architects and designers who contributed to the modernist architecture movement, the organization said.

“Each year Conserving Black Modernism has expanded the number of architects recognized through the initiative, and we’re excited to include five new designers whose innovative buildings enriched communities from coast to coast,” Getty Foundation Director Joan Weinstein said. “Working in tandem with the National Trust, our goal is to help tell a more complete story of the trailblazing contributions of Black architects to the modern movement, which in turn reframes the movement itself.”

The National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is the largest preservation campaign to support the longevity of African American sites.

“Today, only two percent of registered architects in the United States identify as Black,” the fund’s senior vice president Brent Leggs said. “The Conserving Black Modernism program is ensuring the historic contributions Black designers have made to this field are celebrated and can inspire current and future generations. This year’s cohort includes sites by architectural giants, and names the world may be learning about for the first time.”

Since its inception, 21 buildings have received grants through Conserving Black Modernism, including a Spanish Rancho- and Japanese-influenced City Hall designed by the oldest Black American architectural firm in Los Angeles, a theater in Washington D.C. named after the first Black actor to play leading roles in Shakespeare plays, and an award-winning swimming pool and pool house in Wichita, Kansas.

The year’s Conserving Black Modernism grantees are:

— Founders Church of Religious Science in Los Angeles. Dedicated in 1960, the church was designed by Paul R. Williams, the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects. Its sleek, elliptical design was inspired by geometric forms that represented congregation founder Ernest Holmes’ teachings of wholeness, unity, and positivity. The nearly 20,000-square-foot reinforced concrete building has a grand steel-framed dome and concrete screen, and the interior design notably featured closed-circuit television — a brand-new technology at the time — that allowed churchgoers to watch and hear services outside the main auditorium. The site was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2002 and was listed in the National Register in 2020. An accessibility plan will enable more efficient use of the religious landmark and the potential to develop community engagement spaces.

— ITC Administration Building in Atlanta. Georgia’s first licensed Black architect Edward C. Miller designed the building at the International Theological Center, a graduate school of theology composed of five predominantly Black denominational Christian seminaries. Completed in 1961, it is the oldest building on the center’s campus and features a modern brick facade. Funding will support a historic structures report, building assessments, and a reuse study to determine optimal future uses for the building, in addition to greater historical documentation of Miller’s groundbreaking career.

— First Church of Deliverance in Chicago. A former hat factory, the church represents an innovative adaptive reuse project with an art moderne style that boldly departed from the architecture typically seen in places of worship. In 1939, the building was redesigned by Walter T. Bailey, the first licensed Black architect in Illinois. Its smooth surfaces, continuous lines, terracotta tiles, and glass blocks accentuate its streamlined form. A Getty grant will support the Chicago landmark’s first comprehensive preservation plan and campus stewardship plan spanning the church building, Maggie Drummond Community Center and Day Care, and Children’s Church.

— McKenzie Hall in Eugene, Oregon. The University of Oregon’s McKenzie Hall was designed in 1968 by DeNorval Unthank Jr., the first Black graduate of the university’s architecture school. Its geometric, brick and exposed concrete construction is exemplary of the Brutalist style. A preservation and interpretation plan will inform the future conservation of the building as a historic resource, support educational events for the university and its local community, and recognize Unthank’s contribution to the campus’ design through an interpretive display.

— Vassar College’s 2500 New Hackensack building in Poughkeepsie, New York. The building on Vassar College’s campus was designed by Jeh Vincent Johnson and completed in 1963. Johnson is a co-founder of the National Organization of Minority Architects, served on President Lyndon Johnson’s National Commission on Urban Problems, and chaired the National Committee on Housing for the American Institute of Architects. The building is exemplary of Black architects’ contributions to the modernist style and features a minimalist brick, steel, and glass construction. Funds will support a facilities management and preservation plan and support deeper engagement with Johnson’s legacy on campus.