Out of the Shadows: Architect Julian Francis Abele

Portrait of Julian Francis Abele by William Alton Pinkney III

“The lines are all Mr. Trumbauer’s, but the shadows are all mine”— Julian Francis Abele

February is Black History Month, and COUPAR celebrates Philadelphia-born classically trained architect Julian Francis Abele (1881 – 1950). As chief designer for Gilded Age architect Horace Trumbauer, Abele contributed to designing more than 400 buildings, including the Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the West campus of Duke University, and Beaux Arts mansions in Newport and New York. His accomplishments were rarely acknowledged as an African American, prompting him to explain, "The lines are all Mr. Trumbauer's, but the shadows are all mine."  

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Abele was the first black student and black graduate from the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. Despite being the best student, he was not allowed in Penn's dormitories or cafeterias because of segregation and racism. However, this did not deter him; he came from a prominent Black Philadelphian family of achievers. His great uncle was Absalom Jones, who founded the Free African Society; his grandfather, Robert Jones, founded the Lombard Street Presbyterian Church; his father, Charles, fought for Emancipation; his brother Robert was a doctor; another brother was an engineer; and a third a was a blacksmith with his own business.

Duke University Chapel

In addition to Abele's architecture degree, his accomplishments included an architectural drawing degree from The University of the Arts and an architectural drawing certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. His education served him well working for Trumbauer, a businessman architect gifted at securing wealthy clients but lacking formal training. After Abele's employer's death, the company continued as the "Office of Horace Trumbauer," which he co-headed with architect William O. Frank. Today, the architect who was once in the shadow's legacy continues through his buildings and his living descendants, who pursue careers in architecture.