Loyal Classmen

At the turn of the 20th century, Julian Abele and Louis Magaziner—a black man and an immigrant Jew—were standouts in Penn’s School of Fine Arts about to launch distinguished careers in architecture. They were also beginning what would be a lifelong friendship. A Magaziner descendant and Abele admirer investigates what brought them together.

By Amy Cohen

fi rst heard of Julian Francis Abele Who They Were Pennsylvania Museum and School of Ar1902 in 2006 when I was teach- Both Abele and Magaziner achieved no- Industrial Art (now the University of the Iing African American history at table careers—especially so as both came Arts) and then enrolled at Penn’s School ’s Julia R. Masterman from marginalized groups, Abele a black of Fine Arts when he was 17 years old. High School. I was intrigued to discover man and Magaziner an immigrant and Upon his graduation in 1902, he was that we had a personal connection of a Jew. only the third African American in the sorts—Abele had been a close friend of Abele had the more distinguished nation to earn a degree in architecture. my great-granduncle Louis Magaziner pedigree. He was born into a prominent He went on to study at the Pennsylvania Ar1900, who was a fellow architecture black family in Philadelphia, a distant Academy of the Fine Arts, becoming the student in Penn’s then School of Fine relative of the esteemed 18th century fi rst black person to receive a certifi cate Arts. At that time, I was a busy teacher religious and civil rights leader, Absalom in architectural drawing. raising two young girls, with no hours Jones, co-founder of the Free African Abele spent nearly his entire profes- to spare for family research. But two Society in 1787 and the fi rst African sional career in the offi ces of prominent years ago—no longer teaching, and with American to be ordained as an Episcopal architect , quickly parenting less demanding—I set out to priest. After graduating from the vener- rising to the position of chief designer, learn more about these two extraordi- able Institute for Colored Youth, Abele and eventually taking over the fi rm with nary men and their friendship. studied architectural drawing at the a colleague following Trumbauer’s death

52 THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE Mar| Apr 2020 ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID HOLLENBACH Mar| Apr 2020 THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE 53 Louis Magaziner’s career encompassed a variety Julian Abele worked on projects including of building types and architectural styles. Around Harvard’s and Philadelphia’s 1912, he created the hand-drawn blueprint at left Central Library and Museum of Art. He was the lead for the Love of Israel Synagogue in Philadelphia. architect for ’s West Campus (right).

in 1938. Because Trumbauer’s employees lished German Jewish community. He I found a similar description on a re- did not sign their work, and because graduated from Central High School and markable family website organized by scant correspondence among Trumbau- then went to Penn, completing a degree Magaziner descendant Tracey Rich: “At er’s employees remains, and because of in architecture in 1900. Penn, Louis was a classmate and friend the racial implications of denying Abele After graduation, Magaziner worked for of Julian Abele, the fi rst black architect his due, there is much debate about how and founded a variety of fi rms, most no- to graduate from that University. Louis big Abele’s role was in various projects. tably Magaziner, Eberhard, and Harris. He was the only Jew in the program at the The following carefully crafted general- worked in a range of styles, ranging from time, and their shared status as dispar- izations, however, do refl ect the consen- North Broad Street’s Art Deco Uptown aged minorities in the predominantly sus view of his career: Theater, the now demolished Mt. Sinai wealthy WASP program was the begin- Abele contributed to many projects in- Hospital in Pennsport, the modernist Sid- ning of a lifelong friendship.” cluding a slew of Gilded Age mansions and ney Hillman Medical Center on 20th and Was I ever excited! As a product of 13 the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He was Chestnut (also demolished), and Amal- years of Quaker schooling, a veteran of instrumental in designing the Parkway gamated Clothing Workers building on eight years teaching African American Central Library (the Free Library of Phila- 20th and South, as well as many other history, and a Jew to boot, this story of delphia’s main branch) and Widener Li- projects in Philadelphia and elsewhere. oppressed minorities bound together in brary at Harvard. It is incontrovertibly defi ance of the aristocracy got my self- true that Abele was the lead architect for Oppressed Minorities righteous juices fl owing. the Duke University campus, encompass- Bound Together? Plus, as a former group leader and ing 39 buildings, including dormitories, When I began my investigation into board member for Operation Under- an indoor stadium, classroom buildings, their relationship, my fi rst stop, I admit standing, a leadership program for Afri- and the —though his role was at the risk of having my Penn master’s can American and Jewish youth, I am generally ignored until Abele’s great grand degree in history revoked, was Wikipe- quite familiar with the long and continu- niece Susan Cook brought it to the univer- dia. The entry for Abele, after noting ing history of the Black-Jewish alliance, sity’s attention in 1988. that he was the fi rst black student ad- dedicated to expanding rights and dig- Magaziner was born in Humenné, Aus- mitted to Penn’s architecture program, nity to all Americans. I was pretty cer- tria, now part of Slovakia, in 1878. At age added: “On projects assigned to pairs of tain that the Abele-Magaziner friendship 10, he immigrated to Philadelphia along students, he partnered with Louis Mag- was one more example of this special with his parents and seven siblings to aziner, the only Jewish student in the relationship. As I pursued the story, join three of his sisters who had come department, who also faced discrimina- however, the narrative kept shifting and over earlier, fi nding success as dress- tion. This was the beginning of a lifelong my understanding of their friendship makers serving Philadelphia’s estab- friendship between the two.” became more complicated.

54 THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE Mar| Apr 2020 Blueprint courtesy Magaziner Collection, Athenaeum of Philadelphia; postcard courtesy Penn Archives One of the fi rst sources I consulted was about Henry, though: He was a very lib- fi rst fl oor of Van Pelt Library. That year his an unpublished manuscript written by eral Democrat. He was also a resident of design was also selected for the Conklin Henry Magaziner Ar’36, Louis’s son. Henry progressive West Mount Airy and was Memorial Gateway that still graces Haver- followed in his father’s footsteps by going married to a teacher at a Quaker school. ford College, and he won the Arthur Spayd to Central and then Penn for architecture. Alas, Henry was just as susceptible as I Brooke Memorial prize awarded to the He joined his father’s practice and later am to the oppressed outsider narrative. student showing the most promise. Most became a well-known architectural histo- My next research trip brought me to the signifi cantly, Abele was elected by his class- rian and the regional historical architect Architectural Archives at Penn. During mates to be the president of the Architec- for Independence National Park. the time Abele and Magaziner were stu- tural Society. A photograph showing Abele Henry was very fond of Julian Abele dents, the School of Architecture followed sitting, almost kinglike, among his peers and hoped to write a historical novel for the École des Beaux-Arts system of in- pretty much summed up his position in young adults based on Abele’s life. I struction. In a 1926 description of the Penn’s architectural fi rmament. came across a manuscript at The Athe- program written by a Penn professor, I So, I had to let go of my notion of Abele naeum of Philadelphia, a private library found the following shocking paragraph. and Magaziner as outcasts linked by a known for its architectural collection. “In an atelier one of the causes for the shared sense of indignation at their op- A passage from Henry’s never pub- rapid development of the new student is pression. There had to be another bond lished draft: the tradition already mentioned as one of between them. I needed to dig deeper. the features of the Ecole system—the older, During Lou’s last two years and Ju- more advanced pupils helping the young- A Pair of Refi ned, Artistic Souls? lian’s fi rst two at Penn, the Jew and er; and what goes with it, the younger men Another Athenaeum resource: a binder the African American joined forces. working for the older. This latter is called of transcribed interviews done by archi- Both did beautiful work. They be- ‘niggering’ and consists of doing anything tectural historian and Abele biographer came buddies. Ate lunch together, at- the advanced man asks …” Dreck Spurlock Wilson in the late 1980s. tended the football games together, We know that Abele and Magaziner Wilson spoke to relatives and others who and developed a friendship which were indeed formally paired in this way had direct memories of Abele, and a con- was to last throughout their lives. and, most likely, this pairing was based sistent picture emerged. He was de- on their outsider status. We can also scribed as cultured, quiet, fastidious, and Another passage from Henry’s manu- make some assumptions about the dapper. His hobbies included needle- script describing a scene from a few de- WASP-supremacist atmosphere in which point, woodworking, painting, and play- cades later: they prepared for their chosen profes- ing the piano. He attended operas and sion. Besides Abele, the only other Afri- symphonies. He wore a suit even when One Saturday, Julian and his friend can American likely to have been in Col- vacationing in Wildwood. The closest he Lou were having their usual weekly lege Hall, where the program was housed, ever came to using profanity were the lunch together. Lou said, “The other would have been the janitor. Magaziner words “confounded” and “darn.” day I was in your Union League addi- would have been similarly, though less Try to envision his home at 1515 Christian tion. It’s really very handsome.” obviously, isolated from the mainstream Street in South Philadelphia as described Julian replied, “Thanks. But you won’t of whatever social life and sense of cama- by his great nephew John Cook: “The living believe it; I couldn’t even go in through raderie existed among his peers. room was 18th century French. He would the front door! Because I’m black, I But as I spent time looking through old do his own needlework for the sofa. The had to use the servant’s entrance.” yearbooks, my narrative of oppression was dining room was very elegant. He had one “Well, I’m white,” said Lou, “so I did challenged. Magaziner was given the honor Fragonard painting that was huge. And on go in through the front door. Howev- of designing, and even signing, the year- the other side he had another Fragonard er I’m Jewish so I can’t join the club. book cover for Penn’s Class of 1900. Abele, painting. [Think French gentry lounging But making you use the servants’ en- moreover, was a winner, a leader, the star in rural landscapes.] He had the dining trance—and you were the architect, student of the Class of 1902. The Beaux room table in the center of the room. Ev- that’s unforgiveable.” Arts system involves numerous competi- erything was right, even the fancy sterling tions, and Abele garnered more fi rst-place silver. We had to dress for dinner.” Naturally I ate up this fi ctional conver- awards than any student in his class. As a In reading these interviews, it is also clear sation, longing for it to be true. Indeed, junior, he won a competition to design the that Abele was far from a racial fi rebrand. thanks to Henry, my civil rights narra- Pretty Memorial Alumni Award, a com- His wife, Marguerite, was white. He had tive remained intact. Here’s the thing memorative tablet that now hangs on the black servants. In a 1986 Smithonian article

Mar| Apr 2020 THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE 55 on the belated recognition Abele was re- Jewish. He was the architect for the Penn lodge, where he served as treasurer, in- ceiving for his work at Duke and other de- State Hillel, a Hebrew orphan home, the cluded an automotive parts distributor; a signs, Wilson was quoted as saying that, Jewish National Farm School (now Dela- tire salesman; a purveyor of smoked fi sh; “For all intents and purposes, Julian did not ware Valley University), and several other a hardware merchant; a scrap metal trad- consider himself black. He was almost a- Jewish projects. His fi rm partners, Victor er; a waste material dealer; a patrolman; racial. He buried himself in being an artist.” Eberhard and James Russell Harris, were and a wholesale hosiery jobber. And in African American Architects: A Bio- both members of the WASP establishment, But the organization in which he seems graphical Dictionary, 1865-1945, which so I think we can assume that Magaziner to have been most active was the board of Wilson edited, Abele’s entry asserts that he was working with other Jews by choice directors for the Hebrew Sheltering Home “considered himself an artiste beyond racial rather than necessity. and Day Nursery. Located at School House classifi cation—neither Black nor White.” Very late in his career, Magaziner had a Lane and Wissahickon Avenue in Ger- So a new potential narrative emerged. series of exchanges about a proposed move mantown, this social service organization My mom’s most vivid memories of her of Mikveh Israel synagogue to Indepen- served the needs of Jewish orphans and Uncle Lou are that he always took out dence Mall. In one letter Henry Magaziner, unwed mothers. Lou’s involvement began his drawing materials when she would who at that point was working closely with in the early 1920s as the building’s archi- visit his Powelton Village home. She also his dad, listed several synagogue projects tect. He served as chairman of the House recalls that after a leak ruined a patch of by the fi rm. (By the way, while Mikveh Is- and Grounds committee, a position that ornate wallpaper, Uncle Lou painted in rael held off on moving at the time, they made use of his experience. And, touch- the damaged area with his own hand. reconsidered a few years later and hired ingly, he also headed the welfare commit- My new theory: Magaziner and Abele another Beaux Arts-trained Jewish gradu- tee, charged with making sure the chil- were both refi ned, artistic souls. As such, ate of Penn’s School of Architecture: Louis dren and young women at the home re- I surmised, they must have respected Kahn Ar’24 Hon’71.) ceived needed services and programming. each other’s sophistication and taste. As After I read Wilson’s interviews about From the 1920s into the early 1940s, Abele deemphasized his blackness and Abele, he had become vivid to me, but Magaziner attended weekly Sunday meet- spent most of his free time perfecting Magaziner, although he was my relative, ings. Other family members also served his home and engaging in artistic pur- remained an abstraction several months in the organization, including my great suits, I surmised that Magaziner, simi- into my research. I was frustrated and felt grandfather Louis Herbach and his broth- larly, was too ethereal to be deeply en- like I had hit a dead end. Then, I noticed er Joseph Herbach, who was the longtime gaged in the Jewish community. that his obituary mentioned a few diff erent president of the board. I found some evidence to support my organizations with which he was affi liated. So, clearly, when Julian Abele was home new theory during a visit to the Penn It turned out that the best way to get playing piano and doing needlework, sur- Archives—a note to Lou from Warren to know to my great-uncle was to visit rounded by images of 18th century French Powers Laird, then dean of the School of the Jewish Archives at Temple Univer- aristocrats, Lou Magaziner was engaging Fine Arts, indicating that he had enclosed sity. It was there that I got to hear Lou’s in witty repartee with the Jewish elite, ce- a letter of introduction for Abele and voice, as I explored his central role in a menting his Americanness with the striv- Magaziner to use during their upcoming variety of Jewish organizations. ing Jewish Masons, or getting into the trip to Europe. Although the trip never Magaziner was a longtime member of weeds of running a large Jewish social took place, it made sense to me that these the Pow Wow Club, a literary club launched service organization alongside members two sensitive lovers of high art would in the 1890s by members of Philadel- of his own extended family. want to tour the continent together. phia’s Jewish elite. According to Henry I also found the 1900 school of architec- Magaziner, Lou sought inclusion in the What They Shared ture yearbook, and Magaziner’s rather sur- group, something that was unusual for Clearly, Abele and Magaziner were not prising senior projects: plans for an Epis- an immigrant lacking the status and the civil rights activists I fi rst pictured. copal Church and a Baptismal Font. I deep roots of his German Jewish coreli- Nor were they both the sensitive artis- quickly concluded that Magaziner, like gionists. Lou spent decades as the sec- tic souls, more dedicated to aesthetics Abele, did not identify with his own people. retary of the organization. than the welfare of their own people. This theory lasted only as long as my To my surprise, Uncle Lou was also a And yet, they continued to meet for their next trip to the Athenaeum, however. freemason. He was a member of the Hack- Saturday lunches, surely one of the era’s few Magaziner was a meticulous record keep- enburg Lodge, which drew from a less interracial pairs of friends. Often their post- er. Going through his fi les, it was clear that elevated segment of Jewish society than lunch routine was to visit one or the other’s many of his clients and contractors were the Pow Wow Club. Lou’s cohort in the offi ces to off er critiques and encourage-

56 THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE Mar| Apr 2020 Architects in their youth: Abele (first row, fourth from left) and Magaziner (second row, far right) in a group portrait from the 1900 yearbook.

ments, both fi nding that the input of their of his life. Magaziner, too, undoubtedly ously racist and anti-Semitic organization. friend made their own work stronger. And felt a few stings during his time at Penn, They both applied and were admitted in it was to Magaziner that Abele turned for yet, like Abele, he clearly did well at and the 1940s, long after their respective bod- consolation when his wife Marguerite left retained aff ection for his alma mater. ies of work should have ensured their ac- him for one of her singing students. Henry Secondly, they were both excellent ar- ceptance. We know from Henry Magaziner Magaziner recalls hearing Abele literally chitects. Abele designed more high pres- that Lou didn’t apply until he was person- cry on his father’s shoulder in their Powel- tige buildings, and Magaziner was able ally invited to do so. Abele, with endorse- ton Village home as Abele grappled with to demonstrate his skills in a wider va- ments from the likes of , the the knowledge that his wife of nine years riety of styles. But they both remained longtime president of the Philadelphia was in love with another man. enamored of and respected within their Museum of Art, became the fi rst black So here is what I think they shared. chosen profession. member of the Philadelphia chapter. First of all, they got to know each other Third, they both displayed a particular And I guess the fi nal key must have during a period of youthful excitement type of pride. Both Abele and Magaziner been football. During the season, they and idealism. Don’t many of us retain were well-established architects who suc- skipped the Saturday offi ce visits in aff ection for our high school or college ceeded professionally very soon after favor of going together to watch the friends long after our interests, priorities, graduating from Penn. But neither of them play . Apparently, they never or sensibilities have drifted apart? In applied for membership in the American missed a home game. spite of the many slights and barriers that Institute of Architects (AIA) until they made Abele’s life at Penn diff erent than were nearing the end of their careers—not Amy Cohen G’01 is director of education at that of his white counterparts, he contin- willing to openly challenge or risk rejec- History Making Productions and a columnist ued to speak fondly of Penn for the rest tion from what at the time was a notori- for Hidden City Philadelphia.

Photograph courtesy Penn Archives Mar| Apr 2020 THE PENNSYLVANIA GAZETTE 57