
The Getty Foundation's Conserving Black Modernism initiative was launched in 2022 as a grant program to preserve and ensure the legacy of African American architects within the Modernist movement across the United States. In partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, it supports conservation efforts, training, and educational initiatives to address the historical oversight of significant architectural landmarks and their designers' contribution. For its third funding cycle in 2025, five new buildings will receive critical support, expanding the initiative's reach into new communities with the first projects in Chicago and the Pacific Northwest.
According to Brent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and senior vice president at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, only two percent of registered architects in the United States identify as Black. The Conserving Black Modernism program seeks to celebrate and preserve the historic contributions of Black designers as a way to inspire current and future generations of creatives. Since its creation, 21 buildings have received grants through Conserving Black Modernism, including a diverse range of public and community facilities that represent local histories and significant cultural events across the country. The complete list of awarded buildings since 2022 can be found on the Getty Foundation's website.
This year, the Foundation announced its third funding cycle, including five newly selected buildings. These range from a former hat factory–turned–Art Moderne church designed by Illinois's first licensed Black architect, Walter T. Bailey, to a Brutalist student hall that showcases the design talents of University of Oregon architecture professor DeNorval Unthank Jr. The grants aim to support preservation plans, develop the skills of the professionals who care for these sites, promote community engagement, and increase public awareness of their stories and contributions to architectural modernism. Find more information about the five new additions to the program below.
Founders Church of Religious Science / Paul R. Williams
Los Angeles, California, 1960

The Founders Church of Religious Science was designed by Paul R. Williams, the first Black member of the American Institute of Architects. The nearly 20,000-square-foot reinforced concrete building features a grand steel-framed dome and a decorative concrete screen, and notably included a closed-circuit television system to expand the reach of services. Its design and geometry were inspired by the teachings of the congregation's founder, Dr. Ernest Holmes, emphasizing wholeness, unity, and positivity. The site was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2002 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. Grant funding will support the development of an accessibility plan for the religious landmark and its community engagement spaces.
ITC Administration Building / Edward C. Miller
Atlanta, Georgia, 1961

Edward C. Miller, Georgia's first licensed Black architect, designed the Administration Building at the Interdenominational Theological Center, a graduate school of theology composed of five predominantly Black Christian seminaries, completed in 1961. The building is notable for its modern brick façade and is currently the oldest structure on campus. The Getty Foundation grant will fund a historic structures report, building assessments, and a reuse study, as well as expanded historical documentation of Miller's career.
First Church of Deliverance / Walter T. Bailey
Chicago, Illinois, 1939

The First Church of Deliverance is an adaptive reuse project distinguished by its unconventional modernist design. In 1939, Walter T. Bailey, the first licensed Black architect in Illinois, redesigned a former hat factory into a place of worship, incorporating colorful glazed terra cotta tiles and glass block elements. The interior features a low ceiling and original acoustical plaster designed to enhance the church's gospel music and radio broadcasts. Grant funding will support the church's first comprehensive preservation plan, encompassing the main church building, the Maggie Drummond Community Center and Day Care, and the Children's Church.
McKenzie Hall / DeNorval Unthank Jr.
Eugene, Oregon, 1968

McKenzie Hall at the University of Oregon was designed in 1968 by DeNorval Unthank Jr., the first Black graduate of the university's architecture program. Unthank was a faculty member at UO and designed numerous schools, public buildings, and business facilities, including university residence halls and the Lane County Courthouse. The building's exposed brick and concrete structure is recognized by the Getty Foundation as an example of Brutalist architecture. Funding will support the development of a preservation and interpretation plan to guide the building's future conservation, promote educational programming, and honor Unthank's contributions to the campus's design.
Vassar College's 2500 New Hackensack Building / Jeh Vincent Johnson
Poughkeepsie, New York, 1963

The 2500 New Hackensack building on Vassar College's campus was designed by Jeh Vincent Johnson and completed in 1963. Johnson, a co-founder of the National Organization of Minority Architects, also served on President Lyndon B. Johnson's National Commission on Urban Problems and chaired the National Committee on Housing for the American Institute of Architects. The building's minimalist design, featuring brick, steel, and glass, marked a pivotal moment in Johnson's career and aligned with his long-standing role as a professor of architectural design in Vassar's Art Department. Grant funding will support a facilities management and preservation plan and promote deeper engagement with Johnson's architectural legacy on campus.
In other recent news, the European AHI Award 2025 recognized six public heritage interventions across Europe, highlighting their role as forward-looking models for 21st-century architecture with tangible social, environmental, and economic benefits. In Shanghai, MVRDV has recently completed a major adaptive reuse project that transforms a former cement factory into a cultural and leisure district, while Studio Libeskind has released new images of its design for the transformation of the Boerentoren tower, one of Europe's earliest skyscrapers, located in the heart of Antwerp, Belgium. Traditional wood restoration methods are also featured in the Artisans of the Reiwa Era documentary, which showcases the four-year restoration process of the Japanese Rinshunkaku Temple.