(CS4.3) Survey Techniques for Documentation of Work by Notable Black Architect

Black/African American licensed architects make up a very small percentage of professional architects in the United States. The major collections use to store documented historic architecture are lacking in representation of Black/African American licensed architects. The state of Kansas has nearly none known examples of documented architecture designed by a Black/African American licensed architect in any of the three major collections for this research. Without proper documentation and the ability to find information on these buildings, the work by these architects is essentially invisible. One architect of great quality has been overlooked in scholarly research of architecture. Charles McAfee practiced in Wichita, Kansas opening his office in 1963. His work won many awards, but he could never overcome the racial barriers obstructing the expansion of his work in the 60s and 70s. Today, his buildings are in danger of demolition. Since his work is largely uncredited in multiple available databases, it is unknown the status of the majority of his work. This project aims to bring the work of Charles McAfee to a broader audience. The first step is to record all remaining buildings/structures of his work in the Kansas database with proper recognition as him as the architect. The second step will entail selecting one building and creating measured drawings, history, and photos to fully document the building. This documentation will be housed in the Library of Congress with similar building documentation.

The first summer, we identified buildings in Wichita designed by McAfee during the timeframe of 1960-1980. The professor taught the students how to upload the documentation to the Kansas Historic Resources Inventory (KHRI) database making these the first entries in Kansas representing the work of a licensed Black architect. This was the first step in disseminating information about McAfee’s work. The next summer, the team was taught how to prepare documentation of one structure, to be given as a donation to the Historic American Building Survey (HABS). This documentation will be the first of a licensed Black architect in Kansas.