Tour the Historical Homes of Trailblazing African Americans
On this Black History Month in the United States, read about barrier-breaking figures & see the places they called home
When you step inside someone’s home, you open a window into their life and experience. In the case of the eight homes shown here, you can see where the foremost figure of the civil rights movement was born, how a philanthropist and America’s first female self-made millionaire inspired generations of African American women, and where the king of jazz spent his final years, as well as houses that other influential and important black Americans called home.
For Black History Month, we’ve revisited some of the features Houzz has written over the years on the lives and residences of some of this country’s significant, often unsung African American citizens. Some of the names you might recognise instantly, while others may require a closer look. All have inspired change for good through their actions, beliefs and works, often in the face of unimaginable adversity. At the end of each section, you can click into a more in-depth article and virtually transport yourself into the lives and homes of these remarkable people.
For Black History Month, we’ve revisited some of the features Houzz has written over the years on the lives and residences of some of this country’s significant, often unsung African American citizens. Some of the names you might recognise instantly, while others may require a closer look. All have inspired change for good through their actions, beliefs and works, often in the face of unimaginable adversity. At the end of each section, you can click into a more in-depth article and virtually transport yourself into the lives and homes of these remarkable people.
Villa of America’s First Self-Made Female Millionaire
Who lived here: Madam C.J. Walker and her family
Location: Hudson Valley, New York
The grand home of Madam C.J. Walker, a pioneer and magnate in the hair care industry in the early 20th century, is a testament to all that Walker accomplished in her life and how she hoped to galvanise other Black Americans to dream big during the era of oppressive Jim Crow laws. It served as a place to inspire female entrepreneurs and young African Americans, as well as a venue to entertain friends, artists and civil rights activists.
Built in 1918 by Architect Vertner Woodson Tandy, the first licensed African American architect in New York, Villa Lewaro, as Walker called it, was a 20,000-square-foot neo-Palladian mansion on 5 acres along the Hudson River. In contrast to her affluent white neighbours, whose homes were situated to overlook the river, Walker oriented Villa Lewaro in the opposite direction, toward the street, so travellers could take in the view. The interiors were just as glamorous as the exteriors, featuring marble floors, grand chandeliers and stained glass.
Who lived here: Madam C.J. Walker and her family
Location: Hudson Valley, New York
The grand home of Madam C.J. Walker, a pioneer and magnate in the hair care industry in the early 20th century, is a testament to all that Walker accomplished in her life and how she hoped to galvanise other Black Americans to dream big during the era of oppressive Jim Crow laws. It served as a place to inspire female entrepreneurs and young African Americans, as well as a venue to entertain friends, artists and civil rights activists.
Built in 1918 by Architect Vertner Woodson Tandy, the first licensed African American architect in New York, Villa Lewaro, as Walker called it, was a 20,000-square-foot neo-Palladian mansion on 5 acres along the Hudson River. In contrast to her affluent white neighbours, whose homes were situated to overlook the river, Walker oriented Villa Lewaro in the opposite direction, toward the street, so travellers could take in the view. The interiors were just as glamorous as the exteriors, featuring marble floors, grand chandeliers and stained glass.
Walker was also a philanthropist, supporter of the arts and political activist. In an article on Houzz, journalist A’Lelia Bundles, Walker’s great-great-granddaughter, wrote that “[Walker] built her mansion, she said, not for personal aggrandizement but rather ‘to convince members of my race of the wealth of business possibilities, to point to young Negroes what a lone woman accomplished and to inspire them to do big things.’ ”
Today, the home is a National Historic Landmark and a National Trust for Historic Preservation National Treasure. (A miniseries about Walker’s life, starring Octavia Spencer, is available on Netflix.)
Read more about this house
Today, the home is a National Historic Landmark and a National Trust for Historic Preservation National Treasure. (A miniseries about Walker’s life, starring Octavia Spencer, is available on Netflix.)
Read more about this house
Louis Armstrong’s New York City Dream Home
Who lived here: Louis Armstrong and his wife, Lucille
Location: Queens, New York
Born in 1901 in segregated New Orleans, jazz legend Louis Armstrong worked to become one of the most celebrated and influential musicians in American history. And for Armstrong, the two-story home he shared with his wife, Lucille, in the Corona neighborhood of Queens from 1943 until his death in 1971 was his dream come true.
Despite achieving great wealth and fame in his lifetime, Armstrong never considered upgrading. As he said in Our Neighborhood, a piece he wrote shortly before he died, “We don’t think that we could be more relaxed and have better neighbours any place else. So we stay put.” As Armstrong grew older, he liked to spend as much time at his home as he could, writing in his den — including two memoirs and numerous articles — and hosting musical friends.
Before Lucille died in 1983, she arranged to have the property donated to the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs to be operated as a museum. Today, the fully restored home, including the couple’s fabulous 1960s turquoise kitchen, is managed by Queens College as the Louis Armstrong House Museum and is open to the public.
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Who lived here: Louis Armstrong and his wife, Lucille
Location: Queens, New York
Born in 1901 in segregated New Orleans, jazz legend Louis Armstrong worked to become one of the most celebrated and influential musicians in American history. And for Armstrong, the two-story home he shared with his wife, Lucille, in the Corona neighborhood of Queens from 1943 until his death in 1971 was his dream come true.
Despite achieving great wealth and fame in his lifetime, Armstrong never considered upgrading. As he said in Our Neighborhood, a piece he wrote shortly before he died, “We don’t think that we could be more relaxed and have better neighbours any place else. So we stay put.” As Armstrong grew older, he liked to spend as much time at his home as he could, writing in his den — including two memoirs and numerous articles — and hosting musical friends.
Before Lucille died in 1983, she arranged to have the property donated to the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs to be operated as a museum. Today, the fully restored home, including the couple’s fabulous 1960s turquoise kitchen, is managed by Queens College as the Louis Armstrong House Museum and is open to the public.
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Home of the Architect to Hollywood Stars
Who lived here: Paul Revere Williams and his wife, Della Mae
Location: Los Angeles
Architect Paul Revere Williams’ career spanned half a century, during which time he designed thousands of buildings across Southern California, including homes for Hollywood stars Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Bert Lahr, among others. Williams became the first African American member of the American Institute of Architects in 1923 and was posthumously given the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 2017, the first African American to receive the award.
During his illustrious career, Williams designed many iconic buildings, including the spider-like Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport and ornate, expansive homes for his wealthy clients (often in neighbourhoods that African Americans were barred from living in). But it was the International Style home he built for himself and his wife in 1948 in Lafayette Square, an L.A. neighbourhood that had recently eliminated restrictive covenants, that was was most special to him.
Who lived here: Paul Revere Williams and his wife, Della Mae
Location: Los Angeles
Architect Paul Revere Williams’ career spanned half a century, during which time he designed thousands of buildings across Southern California, including homes for Hollywood stars Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Bert Lahr, among others. Williams became the first African American member of the American Institute of Architects in 1923 and was posthumously given the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 2017, the first African American to receive the award.
During his illustrious career, Williams designed many iconic buildings, including the spider-like Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport and ornate, expansive homes for his wealthy clients (often in neighbourhoods that African Americans were barred from living in). But it was the International Style home he built for himself and his wife in 1948 in Lafayette Square, an L.A. neighbourhood that had recently eliminated restrictive covenants, that was was most special to him.
The contemporary design stood out among the neighborhood’s many Craftsman, Italianate Villa and Spanish Colonial Revival homes typical of Southern California at the time. Williams incorporated details he had become known for in his work, including a standout staircase and liberal use of the color green. He also pulled in elements from his travels, including the indoor-outdoor living room inspired by a trip to Jamaica.
The couple entertained frequently, hosting many distinguished members of the local African American community, of which they were active members.
The home, which has undergone restorations, was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument by the city.
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The couple entertained frequently, hosting many distinguished members of the local African American community, of which they were active members.
The home, which has undergone restorations, was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument by the city.
Read more about this house
Modernist Home of Colorado’s First Black Architect
Who lived here: John Henderson Jr. and his family
Location: Denver
After visiting a friend in Denver en route to California in 1959, Kansas native and architect John Henderson Jr. moved his family to Colorado in search of better opportunity. Henderson would go on to become the first licensed African American architect in Colorado. He left a lasting presence in Denver, designing the National Register-listed federal courthouse; numerous other federal buildings, schools and health care facilities; as well as private homes.
But it’s Henderson’s own home, a three-bedroom, three-bath house he designed for his family north of City Park in the early 1960s, that he was proudest of. The modern house, which features floor-to-ceiling windows and a dark red brick exterior, stood in contrast to the neighborhood’s bungalows and Victorian homes at the time. Natural light filled the open-plan house and wood beams spanned the ceilings.
Who lived here: John Henderson Jr. and his family
Location: Denver
After visiting a friend in Denver en route to California in 1959, Kansas native and architect John Henderson Jr. moved his family to Colorado in search of better opportunity. Henderson would go on to become the first licensed African American architect in Colorado. He left a lasting presence in Denver, designing the National Register-listed federal courthouse; numerous other federal buildings, schools and health care facilities; as well as private homes.
But it’s Henderson’s own home, a three-bedroom, three-bath house he designed for his family north of City Park in the early 1960s, that he was proudest of. The modern house, which features floor-to-ceiling windows and a dark red brick exterior, stood in contrast to the neighborhood’s bungalows and Victorian homes at the time. Natural light filled the open-plan house and wood beams spanned the ceilings.
Henderson, seen here, lived in the home for nearly six decades, passing away in 2018 at age 97 just before the city designated the house a historic landmark. As the first landmark-designated property in the historically segregated neighbourhood and one of the few sites in Denver honouring the African American community, it serves as a symbol of Henderson’s groundbreaking achievements.
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Home That Honors Generations of One African American Family
Who lived here: Celia Mann; Mann’s daughter Agnes Jackson and Jackson’s husband, Bill Simons; and their descendants
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
In the 1840s, Celia Mann and her husband, Ben DeLane, purchased a property only a few blocks from the center of Columbia, South Carolina — almost unheard of for an African American couple at the time — to build their family home. Thirty years later, Mann’s daughter built a second home (the one we see here) in the same spot. Their descendants lived in the home for the next 125 years, experiencing life as it was for African Americans in the South during some of the country’s most significant years.
After avoiding demolition in the 1970s, the home was renovated, restored and opened to the public. Visitors today will see a simple four-room cottage that represents one family’s American experience over generations. “Today the house and the land it sits on, or the Mann-Simons Site, are unique,” says Robin Waites, executive director of Historic Columbia, which manages the property. “It’s rare to find a property whose family story is so intact for so long,” she says.
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Who lived here: Celia Mann; Mann’s daughter Agnes Jackson and Jackson’s husband, Bill Simons; and their descendants
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
In the 1840s, Celia Mann and her husband, Ben DeLane, purchased a property only a few blocks from the center of Columbia, South Carolina — almost unheard of for an African American couple at the time — to build their family home. Thirty years later, Mann’s daughter built a second home (the one we see here) in the same spot. Their descendants lived in the home for the next 125 years, experiencing life as it was for African Americans in the South during some of the country’s most significant years.
After avoiding demolition in the 1970s, the home was renovated, restored and opened to the public. Visitors today will see a simple four-room cottage that represents one family’s American experience over generations. “Today the house and the land it sits on, or the Mann-Simons Site, are unique,” says Robin Waites, executive director of Historic Columbia, which manages the property. “It’s rare to find a property whose family story is so intact for so long,” she says.
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Gilded Age Home of a Civil Rights Trailblazer
Who lived here: Maggie L. Walker and her family
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Maggie Lena Walker came of age in the post-Civil War South, in Richmond, Virginia. The daughter of a former slave, she dedicated her life to the uplifting of fellow African American men and women through education, economic empowerment and community and civil rights organizations.
Walker’s grand home, decorated in Gilded Age splendor, sat on a prominent street in Jackson Ward, a neighborhood that had blossomed after the Civil War and earned the nickname the Harlem of the South. Her home played a central role in Walker’s civic-minded life and served as a beacon in Richmond’s African American community.
Who lived here: Maggie L. Walker and her family
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Maggie Lena Walker came of age in the post-Civil War South, in Richmond, Virginia. The daughter of a former slave, she dedicated her life to the uplifting of fellow African American men and women through education, economic empowerment and community and civil rights organizations.
Walker’s grand home, decorated in Gilded Age splendor, sat on a prominent street in Jackson Ward, a neighborhood that had blossomed after the Civil War and earned the nickname the Harlem of the South. Her home played a central role in Walker’s civic-minded life and served as a beacon in Richmond’s African American community.
At the home, which the successful businesswoman and civic leader bought in 1905, Walker lived with her family, collaborated with friends and civil rights leaders and oversaw her business and community work.
After Walker’s passing, her family deeded the home to the National Park Service. Walker’s house, which is open to the public, now resides in a National Historic Landmark District and has been restored to how it looked when Walker lived there.
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After Walker’s passing, her family deeded the home to the National Park Service. Walker’s house, which is open to the public, now resides in a National Historic Landmark District and has been restored to how it looked when Walker lived there.
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Frederick Douglass’ Cedar Hill
Who lived here: Frederick Douglass and his first wife, Anna Murray, and second wife, Helen Pitts
Location: Washington, D.C.
Frederick Douglass lived a transformative life — escaping slavery, teaching himself to write and orate and eventually becoming one of the most influential forces in the abolitionist movement.
By the time he bought Cedar Hill in Washington, D.C., in 1877, Douglass was 59. His writing and lecturing had led to financial success, providing him the means to buy the new home in what is now the city’s Anacostia district. Douglass added more land to the property over the years and expanded the home to 21 rooms, including an impressive one where he wrote his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Douglass lived at Cedar Hill for more than 20 years, passing away there in 1895.
Who lived here: Frederick Douglass and his first wife, Anna Murray, and second wife, Helen Pitts
Location: Washington, D.C.
Frederick Douglass lived a transformative life — escaping slavery, teaching himself to write and orate and eventually becoming one of the most influential forces in the abolitionist movement.
By the time he bought Cedar Hill in Washington, D.C., in 1877, Douglass was 59. His writing and lecturing had led to financial success, providing him the means to buy the new home in what is now the city’s Anacostia district. Douglass added more land to the property over the years and expanded the home to 21 rooms, including an impressive one where he wrote his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Douglass lived at Cedar Hill for more than 20 years, passing away there in 1895.
Soon after Douglass’ death, his wife petitioned for the home to be designated a historic landmark, first managed by the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association and ultimately becoming part of the National Park Service in 1962. In the early 2000s, the home underwent an extensive renovation, which included changes that made the home more closely reflect its appearance when Douglass lived there.
In fact, visitors to the home today will see Douglass’ library much as he did, filled with nearly 1,000 books and the walls decorated with portraits of friends and those he admired, including friend and famed women’s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony.
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Read more:
Houzz Tour: 350-Year-Old Home Gets a New Lease of Life
Houzz Tour: An Art Deco Home Gets An Unbelievable Makeover
In fact, visitors to the home today will see Douglass’ library much as he did, filled with nearly 1,000 books and the walls decorated with portraits of friends and those he admired, including friend and famed women’s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony.
Read more about this house
Read more:
Houzz Tour: 350-Year-Old Home Gets a New Lease of Life
Houzz Tour: An Art Deco Home Gets An Unbelievable Makeover
Who lived here: Martin Luther King Jr. and both his siblings were born here to Martin Luther King and his wife, Alberta Christine
Location: Atlanta
Martin Luther King Jr. is unquestionably the most important figure of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s — as minister, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Nobel Peace Prize winner, author and speaker, among other things. And it’s at this house, a Queen Anne-style home in Atlanta, where his story begins.
Born Jan. 15, 1929, King lived here until he was 12 with his parents and two siblings, in the home his grandfather bought, his mother grew up in and his parents moved into after their marriage. When the family moved to a nearby home, they continued to own and rent the Auburn Avenue property. Later, King’s sister, Christine King Farris, reminisced about the happy childhood at their first home in her book My Brother Martin. She described it as being “filled with adventure stories and Tinkertoys, with dolls and Monopoly and Chinese checkers.”
Soon after King’s assassination in 1968, the nonprofit King Center began restoration work on the home, which had been divided into a duplex rental property. In 1980, the home became part of the National Park Service and is the focal point of Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. The 34-acre park also includes the church where King and his father served as pastors, the World Peace Rose Garden and the Prince Hall Masonic Temple, the first headquarters of the SCLC.
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