Hilyard Robert Robinson (December 3, 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.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Robinson graduated from M Street High School in 1916, part of its last class. He enlisted in the 167th Brigade of the Army's Field Artillery Branch, where he toured Europe during World War One. Returning home, Robinson graduated from Columbia University in 1924 with a degree in architecture, later obtaining a master's from the same university. He went on to design several pieces, including the Langston Terrace Dwellings from 1935 to 1938. According to one historian, Robinson's "enduring contribution is a significant body of architecture that conveys his distinctly rational and human interpretation of Modernism". He died at Howard University Medical Center in 1986.

Early life Hilyard Robert Robinson was born on December 3, 1899, in Washington, D.C., to Michael and Elizabeth Robinson.U.S. Census Bureau. 12th Census Population 1900. Washington DC: 1900. (District of Columbia, vol. 11, ED 153A, sheet 1, line 11). According to census data, Michael was a private in the U. S. Army; Hilyard's grandfather owned a barbershop where Hilyard shined shoes.U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947 for Hilyard Robert Robinson. National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards For District of Columbia, October 16, 1940 – March 31, 1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 194.Ethridge 1979 When Hilyard's father died, Elizabeth took a job as a seamstress and moved him to his grandmother's house in Foggy Bottom.

Robinson graduated Thaddeus Stevens School"Nomination Blank, William E. Harmon Awards for Distinguished Achievement among Negroes, 1930", Records of the Harmon Foundation, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress and "Hilyard Robinson – "Personal Correspondence and Miscellaneous" Box 5 Unprocessed Papers of Hilyard Robinson, Moorland Spingarn Research Center, Howard University. and from M Street High School in 1916,Wilson 2004, p. 492 part of its last class. He then studied at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Arts (now University of the Arts, Philadelphia) for one year, majoring in Commercial Art,Hilyard Robinson "Introduction to a (Auto)Biography of Hilyard Robinson", p. 3, MSRC Howard University. before joining the 167th Brigade of the Army's Field Artillery Branch.Wilson 2004, pp. 492–493

Military service and life as an architect

During World War I, Robinson served as a U.S. Army artillery officer where he spent time in Paris at the Armistice and observed the style of the buildings there. Upon his return to the United States, Robinson transferred to the University of Pennsylvania before eventually graduating from Columbia University in 1924 with a degree in architecture and working for several architectural firms and teaching at Howard University.

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 style, as well as Scandinavia, France and elsewhere.

Robinson taught architecture at Howard University 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 (1935–1938) for which he gained prominence, and Robinson also served as an architectural consultant to the government of Liberia. Robinson worked closely with other American architects such as Ralph A. Vaughn and Paul Williams.Ethridge 1979 He had served as a mentor in 1945 to emerging architect Henry Clifford Boles.

Retirement, death and legacy Robinson died on July 2, 1986, at Howard University Medical Center. According to one historian in African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865–1945, Robinson's "enduring contribution is a significant body of architecture that conveys his distinctly rational and human interpretation of Modernism".Wilson 2004, p. 495

The Langston Terrace Dwellings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

Notable works

Aberdeen Gardens (Hampton, Virginia) (1934) Langston Terrace Dwellings (1935–1938) Ralph Bunche House (Washington, D.C.) (1941) Sharpe Field Airport (1941) 99th Pursuit Squadron Airfield and Training Base (1941), Cheaha, Alabama; with Percy C. Ifill George Washington Carver dormitory (1942), Howard University, Washington, D.C.; with Percy C. Ifill Parkridge Homes (1943), Ypsilanti, Michigan; a war-housing project developed for Black workers of the Willow Run Bomber Plant Liberian Centennial Victory Exposition (1945–1947), Monrovia, Liberia; with Percy C. Ifill Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg (1958) Multiple Howard University buildings (Cramton Hall, the Ira Aldridge Theater, the School of Engineering, the Home Economics Building (now School of Human Ecology), Locke Hall) Cherry Hill Public Housing, Baltimore, Maryland (1945)

References

Works cited