Penn honored the legacy of Julian Abele, the first Black graduate of the University’s architecture program, at a dedication event last week and formally recognized his contributions to the University as the designer of Eisenlohr Hall, the official residence of Penn’s president.
At the event, which took place at Eisenlohr Hall, a framed portrait of Abele commissioned by Frank Harting Jr. was unveiled on the first floor along with a series of watercolor and pastel paintings that Abele created during a trip in 1913. Sketches of Eisenlohr Hall’s floor plan dating back to 1910 were also displayed.
Abele began his studies at Penn in 1898 and graduated from the University’s architecture program — which is part of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design — in 1902. In 1909, when Abele was 30 years old, he was commissioned to design Eisenlohr Hall.
However, Abele did not receive credit for his contributions to Eisenlohr Hall and did not have his name formally associated with the building until February 2021.
In 2021, two previously uncataloged design sheets with the drawings of the house that connected Abele to the building’s design were discovered.
“The University is on a mission to try to capture the history throughout the whole campus, and this is an important way to do it,” Interim Penn President Larry Jameson said at the event.
At the event, William Whitaker, curator and collections manager of the School of Design’s Architectural Archives, discussed how Abele spent hours designing Eisenlohr Hall and gathered inspiration from French Renaissance and Roman architectural styles.
“Each element, in its own way, is an invention,” Whitaker said. “Abele’s work is, of course, more than just shaping details; it is the art of shaping proportion, rhythm, materials, into a vessel for the daily pulse of human experience.”
“We know Julian Abele made the shapes, decided on the details of the fireplaces, the crown molding, the casement work around the windows and doors,” he added.
The design sheet also revealed that while Eisenlohr Hall was one of Abele’s first major commissions, he later went on to work on Philadelphia’s Parkway Central Library and the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s construction documents while he worked at Horace Trumbauer’s leading architectural firm, where Abele became the chief designer.
History of Art professor David Brownlee said that there may be a variety of reasons for why it took so long for Abele to be recognized for his contributions.
“Obviously, there’s the additional invisibility that comes from being African American, but I would say the biggest reason he is not more well known is that architecture is a big and complicated type of art that involves lots of people who are unrecognized by most of us,” he said.
School of Design Dean Frederick Steiner added that “although we won’t see any new buildings from Julian Abele, we can add to his remarkable legacy by supporting future generations of aspiring architects.”
At the dedication event, Abele’s great-grandnephew Peter Cook — also an architect — joined the Penn community to honor Abele’s contributions.
“One of the things that was really impressive is that he was doing, among other things, museums and libraries and educational institutions. These are building types that really uplift people,” Cook said.
“That’s part of why I was so enthused by his architecture and why that is the type of work that I do now as an architect. I like to make sure that the work that I’m doing, much like Julian Abele, is contributing to the betterment of our fellow citizens.”
Eisenlohr Hall’s building plate — located at the entrance to the building — has been updated to include Abele’s name. QR codes placed around the building’s exterior lead to audio recordings that include voice notes by Cook and discuss the building’s unique history.
“We host a lot of people and events here, and it will give us an opportunity at each one of those to tell the story I heard from President Gutmann about Julian Abele’s role in the design of this house,” Jameson said at the event. “Because when students, faculty, and visitors walk in, they always ask questions about the artists, the paintings, the architecture, the design.”
“It will be a story we tell over and over again,” he added.
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