Louis Hudson Persley
Bornc. 1888
Georgia, U.S.
DiedJuly 13, 1932
Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Burial placeLinwood Cemetery
Other namesLouis Hudison Persley,
Lewis Persley,
Louis Pursley,
Leo Persley
EducationLincoln University
Alma materCarnegie Institute of Technology
Occupation(s)Architect, teacher
Years active1916–1932

Louis "Leo" Hudson Persley (c.1888–1932),[1][2] was an American architect.[3] Persley became the first African American to register with the new Georgia State Board of Registered Architects on April 5, 1920.[1][3] He was part of what was possibly the nation’s first black architecture firm, Taylor and Persley, a partnership founded in July 1920 with Robert Robinson Taylor.[3][4][5] He had several spellings of his name including Louis Hudison Persely,[4][3] Lewis H. Persley,[6] and Louis Pursley.[7]

Biography

Louis Persley was born and raised in Macon, Georgia, to Black parents Maxine and Thomas K. Persley.[3][7] He attended Lincoln University, and graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1914.[3][4] He was a professor of architectural and mechanical drawing from 1915 until 1916 at Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama.[4][3]

In July 1920, Persely and fellow architect Robert Robinson Taylor had formed a black architecture firm together, Taylor and Persley.[4][8] This was possibly the first black architecture firm in the United States.[5] They collaborated on many designs, including of several buildings on Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) campus.

He died on July 13, 1932, at the age of 42, of kidney failure,[4][7] and he is buried at Linwood Cemetery in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood of Macon, Georgia. A historical marker commemorates him in front of the First AME Church in Athens, Georgia.[9] Persley's profile was included in the biographical dictionary African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865–1945 (2004).

Buildings

First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia
First African Methodist Episcopal Church

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Louis H. Persley (1888-1932)". Georgia Historical Society.
  2. ↑ Mary, Stanton (September 18, 2017). "African American Prince Hall Masons in Alabama". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (March 2004). African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. Routledge. pp. 443–445. ISBN 978-1-135-95629-5.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Weiss, Ellen (2012). Robert R. Taylor and Tuskegee: An African American Architect Designs for Booker T. Washington. NewSouth Books. pp. 112, 140–142. ISBN 9781588382481.
  5. 1 2 "History of Firsts" (PDF). Lincoln University.
  6. 1 2 Aued, Blake (2020-11-11). "The Hot Corner and Four More Historic Athens Sites in Danger of Disappearing". Flagpole. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "A Macon street bears his name, but you don't know his story". Historic Macon Foundation.
  8. ↑ Pratt, Boyd C. (2013). "Review of Robert R. Taylor and Tuskegee: An African American Architect Designs for Booker T. Washington". Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum. 20 (1): 136–138. doi:10.5749/buildland.20.1.0136. ISSN 1936-0886. JSTOR 10.5749/buildland.20.1.0136.
  9. ↑ "Bucket List: Athens and the African-American Experience". Grady Newsource. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Isabella (February 28, 2021). "Athens African American History Self-guided Tour". Odssey News (magazine). Odssey Media Group. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  11. ↑ Taylor, George (2011-12-29). "Campbell Chapel AME 2 Americus, GA". George Lansing Taylor Collection Main Gallery, University of North Florida.
  12. ↑ "Campbell Chapel AME Church". NPGallery Digital Asset Management System.
  13. ↑ "Birmingham: Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge". Design200. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  14. ↑ Edgemon, Erin (2017-02-26). "Birmingham civil rights landmark launches fundraiser". al. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  15. ↑ "Building History: Inside the closed Masonic Temple in downtown Birmingham". The Birmingham Times. 2017-04-13. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  16. 1 2 Dorris, Jesse (June 1, 2020). "10 Pioneering African American Architects and the Legacy Buildings They Designed". Interior Design. ISSN 0020-5508. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  17. ↑ "Tuskegee University". SAH ARCHIPEDIA. September 6, 2018.
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