Located in the rural town of Prairie View, Texas, Prairie View A&M University -- or PVAMU, for short -- is a historically black university (HBCU) founded in 1876.
The university officially opened in 1878 as the “Alta Vista Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youth”, when the Alta Vista Plantation -- a cotton plantation located on the campus’ current grounds -- was deeded to the state. It was for many years the only publicly funded historically African American college in Texas, and time after time survived the political and economic oppression of African American educational institutions that occurred in Texas from the Reconstruction Era through much of the 20th century. All full historical accounting of the university is available for further reading on the
Texas State Historical Association website.
PVAMU’s campus has several historic buildings, some of which were designed by renowned African American architects who studied and later taught at the university. Seven of these buildings -- all built around the first half of the 20th century -- were ultimately nominated and recognized by the NRHP for their historic and architectural significance throughout their tumultuous periods. As best described by the original April 21, 1999 NRHP
Nomination Submission form:
“[…] Fieldwork in the summer of 1997 identified only seven (out of 89 catalogued in 1936) extant historic resources associated with the campus. […]. Built using masonry construction techniques, they typically rise one to three stories in height on generally rectangular plans. Block massing and symmetrically composed facades predominate, with partial basements and entry focal points providing formal design elements. Finish materials historically included brick, cast stone and tile detailing, asphalt shingles and generously proportioned wood fenestration. Varying stylistic influences, specifically ornamentation drawn from the Classical Revival, Collegiate Gothic and Modern styles of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, reveal the involvement of architects throughout the period of significance. Historic settings typically provided generous green spaces dotted with native oak trees and low scale vegetation around each building. A network of concrete sidewalks and entry stairs evolved during the period of significance to connect campus facilities. Remodeling over the years resulted in changes that generally respect the historic character of these resources. Typical changes include construction of new wings to accommodate growth on campus, alteration of fenestration materials to improve energy efficiency and reconfiguring of sidewalks and entries to comply with [new federal] guidelines.
[…] Reflective of the primary mission of the university, [these seven] Education Buildings bespeak the development of the campus throughout the period of significance. As such they are significant for their historical associations […] in the areas of Education and Ethnic Heritage. Strong associations with significant leaders on the campus suggest nomination […] in these same areas, given a direct association between the contributions of the person and the building in question.”
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While not a true “Education Building” per-se, the 1916 Fry-Thomas Building (a.k.a. “Building #0529” or “Fry-Thomas Power Plant”, as it was known back then) did play a tangential educational role for its ability to provide practical training to the college’s Engineering students. Per the original NRHP nomination submission form:
“Louis Fry attended Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College in 1918 and enrolled in Mechanic Arts. In 1922 Fry received a degree and continued his education at Kansas State College in Manhattan, Kansas. Inadequate finances forced him to return to Prairie View to work as a stationary engineer at the Power Plant. He eventually returned to Kansas State and registered in the architectural engineering department as the only African American in attendance. While attending Kansas State, Fry met Claude L. Wilson who would later become a vice president of Prairie View. […] Fry returned to Prairie View in 1927, this time as a teacher in a department headed by Claude Wilson. In the 1920s students in the industrial program took trade method courses supplemented with practical experience on campus including classroom building, grounds maintenance and power plant maintenance.”
Interestingly enough, the power plant was not named after Louis Fry, but Francis Glenn Fry. Per the
Preservation Nation website: “Francis Glenn Fry was born on April 18, 1900 in Texas. A gifted student, Fry graduated from K-State with high honors on May 29, 1929 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. In 1930, he was an engineer at the Prairie View Normal & Industrial College power plant. He remained associated with Prairie View for the rest of his life. The Physical Plant Building is named after him in his honor.”
The building still serves at the university's main power plant to date. It is located right next to the university's prominent water tower, which can be seen from miles away.