architect to practice in Alabama , was one of those trailblazers .
Rayfield was born on May 10 , 1873 , in Macon , Georgia , the son of a railroad porter and a seamstress . 10 Rayfield studied at Howard University and Pratt Polytechnic Institute before eventually earning his architectural degree from Columbia University in 1899 . 11 After working as an instructor at Tuskegee Institute , he moved to Birmingham and established the first Black-owned architectural office in Alabama . 12 Wallace designed schools and homes for the growing Black middle class , but his primary focus was the design of churches . Rayfield ’ s designs were used around the world , in places as varied as Chicago , West Virginia and South Africa .
Rayfield is reported to have built 40 houses and 34 churches in the Birmingham area alone . He didn ’ t advertise himself as a Black architect , never including pictures of himself , using only his initials in advertisements , and adhering to a ‘ mail-order ’ approach . 13 Rayfield authored several books that helped him market his church designs to various denominations , including Book of Designs : Churches , and his books of plans such as Plans for Baptist Churches , Plans for Methodist Episcopal Churches , and Designs for Lutheran Churches . 14
New Zion Baptist Church in Bessemer , Alabama features elements suggesting a Romanesque Revival , a style seen in many of the churches Rayfield designed in Birmingham and northern Alabama .
Haven United Methodist Church , Clarksdale , Mississippi . Christopher S . Hunter
Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church , Clarksdale , Mississippi . Christopher S . Hunter
New Zion Baptist Church in Bessemer , Alabama . Christopher S . Hunter
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