George Washington Foster
George Washington Foster Jr. (December 18, 1866 – December 20, 1923), was an American architect.[1] He was among the first African-American architects licensed by the State of New Jersey in 1908, and later New York (1916). Foster partnered with Vertner Woodson Tandy (1885–1949), the first African-American architect licensed by the State of New York, in the firm of Tandy and Foster, which was active from 1908 to 1914.[2][3]
George Washington Foster | |
|---|---|
| Born | George Washington Foster Jr. December 18, 1866 Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | December 20, 1923 (aged 57) Park Ridge, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Resting place | Westwood Cemetery, Westwood, New Jersey |
| Known for | Architect |
| Spouse | Carrie |
| Children | 6 |
Early life
George Washington Foster Jr. was born on December 18, 1866, in Virginia.[4] His father was a carriage stripper and his mother was a descendant of Jefferson Davis. He moved to Newark, New Jersey at the age of four.[4]
Foster attended night school at Cooper Union and studied architecture.[4]
Career
Foster is said to have worked in the office of Henry Hardenbergh from 1888 to 1889, who designed the New York City landmarks Dakota Apartment Building, Plaza Hotel, and the first Waldorf-Astoria, on the present site of the Empire State Building. During his time with Hardenbergh, he would have worked on the Waldorf Hotel in 1892.[4] He may also have worked on the Flatiron Building, designed by the Chicago-based firm of D. H. Burnham.[2][4]
Around 1908, Foster met Vertner Woodson Tandy, New York's first registered African-American architect and formed the architectural firm Tandy & Foster together.[4] Tandy & Foster designed St. Philip's Episcopal Church (Harlem, New York) in 1910. After 1915, Foster was licensed to practice in New York and maintained his own office until his death.[2] They also worked on the Mother AME Zion Church in Harlem.[4]
Personal life
He relocated with his wife, Carrie, to Park Ridge, New Jersey in a house he designed and built.[4] He and his wife had six children, including Henry Hardenburg Foster, who was named after his employer.[4]
He died on December 20, 1923, in a house he designed on Colony Avenue, in Bergen County, Park Ridge, New Jersey.[2][4] He is buried at the Westwood Cemetery in Westwood, New Jersey.[4]
See also
References
- Dozier, Richard K. (2006). "African-Americans in Architecture". African American Registry (AAREG). Archived from the original on 2009-02-08.
- T. Robins Brown, Schuyler Warmflash, Jim DelGiudice, The architecture of Bergen County, New Jersey: the colonial period to the twentieth century
- Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (2004). African-American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945. ISBN 978-0-415-92959-2.
- Boyd, Herb (2020-12-10). "Black architectural forerunner, George Washington Foster, Jr". amsterdamnews.com. Retrieved 2021-03-23.