Co-organized by the Syracuse Orange Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS)
During the 1930s-70s, architect Thomas W. Boyde Jr. ’28 (B.Arch.) designed hundreds of buildings in the Rochester area that were instrumental in shaping the mid-century city and suburbs at a time when he, the first African American architect in Rochester, would not have been welcome as a resident of many suburban neighborhoods where he worked.
Boyde’s body of work has yet to be fully appreciated, as debates over the extent of his involvement in a handful of prominent projects have overshadowed his real contributions to the built environment. This presentation explores Boyde’s life and his prolific career, challenges in documenting the work of African American architects practicing in the mid-twentieth century, and ways to bring new appreciation to the work of this supremely talented architect who left a remarkable legacy in the greater Rochester area.
A Presentation By:
- Christopher Brandt, Architect and Project Manager, Bero Architecture, PLLC
- Katie Eggers Comeau, Architectural Historian, Bero Architecture, PLLC
- Jeffrey A. “Free” Harris, Historian and Historic Preservation Consultant
Other members of the Thomas W. Boyde Jr. Historic Resource Survey Team:
- Gina M. DiBella, Historic Preservation Consultant
- Alexis Rivers, Research Assistant
