Julian Francis Abele, one of the first university-trained African-American
architects, received little recognition during his lifetime despite his many significant
contributions to the profession. Although declared "certainly one of the
most sensitive designers anywhere in America" by Fiske Kimball, director of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Abele remained virtually unknown
outside Philadelphia's architectural community for many years. Today we
appreciate Abele as one of the early twentieth century's most seasoned designers
of revival buildings, who rejuvenated long-dormant styles as vital forms of
architectural expression.
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Born in Philadelphia in 1881, Abele lived most of his life in the City. As a
boy, he attended the Institute for Colored Youth (900 block of
Bainbridge Street) and Brown Preparatory School. As a student in evening
classes at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art in
1898, he won the Groff Prize for Architectural Design. That same year, he enrolled in the prestigious architecture program at the University of Pennsylvania, where he won several awards and served as the president of the Architectural Society. In 1902, Abele became the first African American to graduate from
that program. He subsequently studied design at the Pennsylvania Academy
of the Fine Arts and worked for noted architect Louis C. Hickman.
After leaving Hickman in 1903, Abele traveled extensively. In Europe he encountered
eighteenth century French architecture, which he favored
throughout his career.
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In 1906, Horace Trumbauer recruited the young
architect to work at his celebrated Philadelphia firm. Abele quickly proved himself. When a local architect asked whether Abele might be released from his contract, Trumbauer replied: "I of course would not want to lose Mr. Abele." In 1909, Abele was appointed chief designer, a remarkable feat for one of his age and race. In 1925, he married Marguerite Bulle, a French woman. They had two children, Nadia and Julian, Jr.
As Trumbauer's chief designer, Abele worked on designs for dozens of
important residential, civic, and commercial landmarks. Trumbauer's
stepdaughter remembered that Abele was "invaluable in consultation" with her father. The "brilliant" Abele once stated that the "lines are all Mr. Trumbauer's, but the shadows are all
mine."
Despite his high profile within Trumbauer's firm, the designer did in
fact remain in the shadows outside the firm. After Trumbauer's death in 1938, Abele signed his own designs for the first time,
but never received the credit he deserved. At his death in 1950, few knew that architect Julian F.
Abele had forever changed Philadelphia's skyline and American architecture.
