Louis H. Persley Explained

Louis Hudson Persley
Other Names:	Louis Hudison Persley, Lewis Persley, Louis Pursley, Leo Persley
Birth Date:	c. 1888
Birth Place:	Georgia, U.S.
Death Date:	July 13, 1932
Death Place:	Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Burial Place:	Linwood Cemetery
Education:	Lincoln University
Alma Mater:	Carnegie Institute of Technology
Occupation:	Architect, teacher
Years Active:	1916–1932

Louis Hudson Persley (c.1888–1932),^[1] was an American architect.^[2] Persley became the first African American to register with the new Georgia State Board of Registered Architects on April 5, 1920.^[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.^{[4] [5]} He had several spellings of his name including Louis Hudison Persely, 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. He attended Lincoln University, and graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1914. He was a professor of architectural and mechanical drawing from 1915 until 1916 at Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama.

In July 1920, Persely and fellow architect Robert Robinson Taylor had formed a black architecture firm together, Taylor and Persley.^[8] This was possibly the first black architecture firm in the United States. 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, 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 (2004).

Buildings

• First African Methodist Episcopal Church (1916) in Athens, Georgia^[10]
• Campbell Chapel A.M.E. Church (1920) in Americus, Georgia; listed on the National Register of Historic Places^{[11] [12]}
• Chambliss Hotel (1922), Macon, Georgia
• Colored Masonic Temple (1922; or 'Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge') in Birmingham, Alabama; for the Free and Accepted Masons^{[13] [14] [15]}
• Central City Funeral Home (1928), Cotton Avenue, Macon, Georgia
• Samaritan Building, Athens, Georgia (demolished)
• Dinkins Memorial Building at Selma University, Selma, Alabama; with Robert Robinson Taylor^[16]
• Masonic Temple in Birmingham, Alabama; with Robert Robinson Taylor
• Several buildings on the campus of Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama; with Robert Robinson Taylor^[17]
  • James Hall Dormitory (1921), Tuskegee Institute
  • Sage Hall Dormitory (1927), Tuskegee Institute
  • Logan Hall Dormitory (1931), Tuskegee Institute
  • Armstrong Science Building (1932), Tuskegee Institute
  • Hollis Burke Frissell Library (1932), Tuskegee Institute

See also

• African-American architects
• McKissack and McKissack, another early Black architecture firm

External links

• Video: Architecture, Race and Academe from Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mary . Stanton . September 18, 2017 . African American Prince Hall Masons in Alabama . 2023-01-12 . Encyclopedia of Alabama . en.
2. Book: Wilson, Dreck Spurlock . African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945 . March 2004 . Routledge . 978-1-135-95629-5 . 443–445 . en.
3. Web site: Louis H. Persley (1888-1932). Georgia Historical Society.
4. Book: Weiss, Ellen . Robert R. Taylor and Tuskegee: An African American Architect Designs for Booker T. Washington . NewSouth Books . 2012 . 9781588382481 . 112, 140–142.
5. Web site: History of Firsts . Lincoln University.
6. Web site: Aued . Blake . 2020-11-11 . The Hot Corner and Four More Historic Athens Sites in Danger of Disappearing . 2023-01-12 . Flagpole . en-US.
7. Web site: A Macon street bears his name, but you don't know his story . Historic Macon Foundation. 21 February 2020 .
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 . 10.5749/buildland.20.1.0136 . 10.5749/buildland.20.1.0136 . 1936-0886.
9. Web site: 2018-02-27 . Bucket List: Athens and the African-American Experience . 2023-01-12 . Grady Newsource . . en-US.
10. Web site: Johnson . Isabella . February 28, 2021 . Athens African American History Self-guided Tour . 2023-01-12 . Odssey News (magazine) . Odssey Media Group . en-US.
11. Taylor . George . 2011-12-29 . Campbell Chapel AME 2 Americus, GA . George Lansing Taylor Collection Main Gallery.
12. Web site: Campbell Chapel AME Church . NPGallery Digital Asset Management System.
13. Web site: 2019-05-24 . Birmingham: Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge . 2023-01-12 . Design200 . en-US.
14. Web site: Edgemon . Erin . 2017-02-26 . Birmingham civil rights landmark launches fundraiser . 2023-01-12 . al . en.
15. Web site: 2017-04-13 . Building History: Inside the closed Masonic Temple in downtown Birmingham . 2023-01-12 . The Birmingham Times . en-US.
16. Web site: Dorris . Jesse . June 1, 2020 . 10 Pioneering African American Architects and the Legacy Buildings They Designed . 2023-01-12 . . en-US . 0020-5508.
17. Web site: Tuskegee University. September 6, 2018. SAH ARCHIPEDIA.