Hilyard Robert Robinson (1899 – July 2, 1986), was an American architect, teacher, and engineer. He was a prominent early Black architect in the United States, and influenced a generation of students.

Biography

Hilyard Robert Robinson was born in 1899, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where his mother was a seamstress and his grandfather had a shoe-shining business. Robinson graduated from

M Street High School M Street High School, also known as Dunbar High School, is a historic former school building located in the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. It has been listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites since 1978 and it was li ...

and then studied at the

Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Arts The University of the Arts (UArts) was a Private university, private Art school, arts university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its campus made up part of the Avenue of the Arts (Philadelphia), Avenue of the Arts cultural district in Center Cit ...

(now University of the Arts, Philadelphia). During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Robinson served as a U.S. Army artillery officer where he spent time in Paris at the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

and observed the style of the buildings there. Upon his return to the United States, Robinson transferred to the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

before eventually graduating from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1924 with a degree in architecture and working for several architectural firms and teaching at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. In 1931, after he married Helena Rooks and completed a master's degree at Columbia, the Robinsons went to Europe to study in Germany, where Robinson was influenced by the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

style, as well as Scandinavia, France and elsewhere. Robinson taught architecture at

from the 1920s to 1960s, and he also designed many campus buildings. The U.S. Department of the Interior commissioned Robinson to build the

Langston Terrace Dwellings Langston Terrace Dwellings are historic structures located in the Carver Langston, Langston portion of the Carver/Langston neighborhoods in the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. The apartments were built between ...

(1935–1938) for which he gained prominence, and Robinson also served as an architectural consultant to the government of

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

. Robinson worked closely with other American architects such as Ralph A. Vaughn and

Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to: Authors * Paul Williams (Crawdaddy) (1948–2013), American music and science fiction journalist; founder of ''Crawdaddy'' and the Philip K. Dick Society * Paul Williams (Irish journalist) (born 1964), Irish journalis ...

.Amy DePaul, Historians' Projects To Honor Architect, ''Washington Post'', October 16, 1986 He had served as a mentor in 1945 to emerging architect Henry Clifford Boles. Robinson died in 1986 at Howard University Medical Center in Washington, D.C..

Notable works

Aberdeen Gardens (Hampton, Virginia) Aberdeen Gardens is a national Historic districts in the United States, historic district located at Hampton, Virginia, United States. The district was part of a planned community initiated by Hampton University under New Deal legislation. The ...

(1934) *

(1935–1938) * Ralph Bunche House (Washington, D.C.) (1941) *

Sharpe Field Sharpe Field is a closed private-use airport located northwest of the central business district of Tuskegee, a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. This airport is privately owned by the Bradbury Family Partnership. Formerly known ...

Airport (1941) *99th Pursuit Squadron Airfield and Training Base (1941), Cheaha, Alabama; with

Percy C. Ifill Percy Costa Ifill (June 16, 1913 – May 18, 1973) was an American architect. He was a co-founder of a leading Black architectural firm in New York City, Ifill Johnson Architects (1962 to 1967), later known as Ifill Johnson Hanchard Architects ...

*George Washington Carver dormitory (1942),

, Washington, D.C.; with Percy C. Ifill *Parkridge Homes (1943),

Ypsilanti,_Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

; a war-housing project developed for Black workers of the

Willow Run Bomber Plant Willow Run, also known as Air Force Plant 31, was a manufacturing complex in Michigan, United States, located between Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, Ypsilanti Township and Belleville, Michigan, Belleville, built by the Ford Motor Company to manu ...

*Liberian Centennial Victory Exposition (1945–1947), Monrovia, Liberia; with Percy C. Ifill * Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg (1958) *Multiple

buildings (Cramton Hall, the Ira Aldridge Theater, the School of Engineering, the Home Economics Building (now School of Human Ecology), Locke Hall)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Hilyard 1899 births 1986 deaths 20th-century African-American artists 20th-century American architects African-American architects Architects from Washington, D.C. Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni Howard University faculty United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni