Brent, Calvin
1854-1899 · Contribution: 1880s
Architect
Generally considered the first African American architect to practice in Washington, D.C.
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1854
- Active since
- 1880s
- Category
- Architecture & Design
- Best known for
- First Black architect in Washington, D.C.Late-19th-century practitionerCapital-city pioneer
Impact on the world
Brent broke the color line of the architecture profession in the nation's capital, giving the city's Black congregations dignified, enduring buildings of their own.
Sources
- Wilson, 'African American Architects' (Routledge, 2004)
1 more sources and references are available to members.
Related visionaries
Lankford, John A.
1874-1946
First professionally licensed African American architect in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Pittman, William Sidney
1875-1958
First African American to receive a federal architectural design contract
Rayfield, Wallace A.
1873-1941
Designed over 400 buildings across 20 states, including offering mail-order architectural plans nationwide
Tandy, Vertner Woodson
1885-1949
Co-founded Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity in 1906; designed landmark Harlem church and Madam C.J. Walker's estate Villa Lewaro