DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells this story, and I'm gonna give it to you the way it deserves to be told. This is Duane, and this one's about a man who built things that lasted. William Sidney Pittman came into this world on April 21, 1875, in Montgomery, Alabama.
Now, the odds stacked against a Black child in the post-Reconstruction South were not small. You understand that going in. But Pittman had a gift, and he had the discipline to match it.
He attended segregated public schools in Montgomery and Birmingham, and then, at seventeen years old, in 1892, he enrolled at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. That alone was something. But Pittman wasn't finished reaching.
In 1897, he entered the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry, and in 1900 he walked out of there with a focus on architecture and mechanical drawing. He went back to Tuskegee for a spell, then packed up and headed to Washington, D.C., where he opened a private architectural practice. He designed numerous public buildings.
He gained recognition — and I mean real, earned recognition — as one of the most accomplished Black architects in America. That wasn't a rumor. That was a reputation built beam by beam.
Then comes 1907, and Pittman married Portia Washington, daughter of Booker T. Washington — the founder of the very Tuskegee Institute where Pittman had first studied. If that's not a full circle worth noticing, I don't know what is.
In 1913, William and Portia moved to Dallas, where Pittman operated an office right out of their home. And here's where his Texas chapter gets going. In 1916, he designed the Pythian Temple in Dallas — built to serve as the state headquarters for the Knights of Pythias, the Black fraternal organization.
That building was financed by the Black citizens of Dallas themselves, and it became the social gathering place for the community. Think about what that means — a people pooling their own resources, raising their own building, designed by one of their own. That Temple wasn't just mortar and stone.
It was a statement. Pittman didn't stop there. He designed St.
James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Dallas, Joshua Chapel A.M.E. Church in Waxahachie, Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Fort Worth, and other buildings besides.
Across the country, he designed dozens of structures, with fourteen known works right here in Texas. He also published a newspaper called Brotherhood Eyes. William Sidney Pittman died in 1958 and was buried at Glen Oaks — later known as Pinkston — Cemetery in Dallas.
He is remembered as the first practicing African American architect in Texas. And those buildings he drew, those churches and temples and halls, they're still standin' as proof that a seventeen-year-old boy from Montgomery had something to say — and he said it in brick and mortar and glass for the rest of his life.
What the marker says
Pioneer African American Architect William Sidney Pittman was born in Montgomery, Alabama on April 21, 1875. Pittman attended segregated public schools in Montgomery and Birmingham before enrolling at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1892 at the age of 17. In 1897, Pittman entered the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry and graduated in 1900 with a focus on architecture and mechanical drawing. For a short time, Pittman worked at the Tuskegee Institute and then moved to Washington, D.C. To open a private architectural practice. During this time, he designed numerous public buildings and gained recognition as one of the most accomplished black architects in America. In 1907, he married Portia Washington, daughter of Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Institute, and in 1913, they moved to Dallas where Pittman operated an office from their home. While in Dallas, Pittman designed many buildings, including the 1916 Pythian Temple, built to serve as the state headquarters for the black fraternal organization, the Knights of Pythias. The building was financed by the black citizens of Dallas and served as the social gathering place for the community. Pittman also designed St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Dallas, Joshua Chapel A.M.E. Church in Waxahachie and Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Fort Worth, along with other buildings. Pittman designed dozens of buildings in the U.S., including 14 known works in Texas. He also published the newspaper Brotherhood Eyes. He died in 1958 and was buried at Glen Oaks (later Pinkston) Cemetery. Pittman is remembered as the first practicing African American architect in Texas and still serves as an inspiration to future generations. (2008)