Julian Francis Abele (1881-1950)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
The first Black graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Architecture, Abele was the chief designer for the nationally known architectural firm of Horace Trumbauer, whose commissions during Abele's career included the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library of Philadelphia on Logan Square.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In an era when the profession was almost entirely closed to Black Americans, Julian Abele broke through as the first African American to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania's architecture school. As chief designer in Horace Trumbauer's prominent firm, he shaped some of Philadelphia's grandest civic buildings, including the monumental Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library on Logan Square. For much of his career his contributions went publicly uncredited, hidden behind the firm's name even as his designs defined the city's Beaux-Arts skyline.
Why it matters
Abele's work stands as a landmark of Black achievement in a segregated profession, reminding us that some of America's most beloved public monuments were designed by a man history long left unnamed.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- African American Museum in Philadelphia1.7 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- National Constitution Center1.8 mi away · 525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Bridgette Mayer1.8 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Visitor Center1.8 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center1.9 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Congress Hall1.9 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- Rocky Stepsnearby
- The Universal Sphere0.9 mi away
- Philadelphia Zoo1.0 mi away
- One Liberty Observation Deck1.0 mi away
- Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge1.1 mi away
- Reading Terminal1.4 mi away
Food & drink
- Burger King1.7 mi away
- Philly Pretzel Factory1.7 mi away
- Munchie’s Cafe1.7 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Dunkin'1.8 mi away · 634 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- El Azteca1.8 mi away
- Lamberti Pizza & Market1.8 mi away · 707 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Days Inn Philadelphia Convention Center - Philadelphia1.2 mi away · 1227 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia City Center1.2 mi away · 1201 Race Street, Philadelphia
- The Notary Hotel1.3 mi away · 21 North Juniper Street, Philadelphia
- Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City1.3 mi away · 1 East Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Home2 Suites by Hilton Philadelphia - Convention Center, PA1.3 mi away · 1200 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philadelphia Marriott Downtown1.3 mi away · 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Julian Francis Abele
- · Horace Trumbauer
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
1967 Black Student Walkouts
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2022
On November 17, 1967, thousands of Philadelphia students walked out of their schools and gathered at the Board of Education building to demand an education that reflected their own histories. The peaceful demonstration met police violence, but it stands as one of the earliest and largest youth-led actions in the national ethnic studies movement. Decades later, in 2005, the students' vision was realized when Philadelphia became the first U.S. district to require African American studies.
Central Library
Philadelphia, PA
By the turn of the 20th century, Philadelphia's Free Library — chartered in 1891 during the great American public-library movement — had outgrown its quarters, and the city set out to give it a grand permanent home on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. When the Central Library opened its doors in 1927, it did so in the stately Beaux Arts manner then favored for civic temples of learning, its design carried out by the prominent Philadelphia firm of Horace Trumbauer alongside Julian Francis Abele, one of the first formally trained African American architects in the nation. The building embodied the era's conviction that a free, monumental library was a cornerstone of a democratic city.
Girard College Civil Rights Landmark
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1992
Stephen Girard's 1831 will founded a school for poor white orphan boys, and for more than a century that racial restriction stood. Beginning in the 1930s, attorney Raymond Pace Alexander challenged it, and lawyer Cecil B. Moore later carried the fight into the federal courts. A 1968 ruling finally opened Girard College to students of all races, making its walls a landmark of the modern civil rights struggle.
Berean Institute
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1990
Founded in 1899 by Rev. Matthew Anderson, pastor of Berean Presbyterian Church, the Berean Institute set out to teach Black Philadelphians skilled trades that segregation and prejudice had closed off to them elsewhere. Anderson also launched the Berean Savings Association, weaving education together with Black economic self-reliance. Over time the school broadened its curriculum to meet the changing needs of its students.