Buildings begin with ideas. What will they look like? What will they be made of? Architects answer those questions. That was the dream job of one woman in the early 1900s.
Amaza Lee Meredith was born on August 14, 1895, in Lynchburg, Virginia. She was the youngest child in her family. Meredith had two sisters and one brother. Her mother, Emma, was Black. Her father, Samuel, was white.
Samuel worked as a carpenter. He planned and built his family’s home in Lynchburg. Meredith looked at her father’s blueprints. She learned about architecture. She decided to be an architect herself!
This was a big goal. At the time, there had never been a Black woman architect in the United States. Samuel died in 1915. Afterward, Meredith looked for work as a teacher. She got her first job in 1916. She worked at a school for young kids called Indian Rock. She helped improve the school. She took part in organizing the Indian Rock Parent-Teacher's Association. Then, in 1918, she returned to Lynchburg. She taught at an elementary school.
Meredith wanted to teach at even higher levels. She went to the Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. In 1922, she graduated at the top of her class. Meredith got a job at a high school in Lynchburg that same year. She taught mathematics.
Meredith wanted to keep teaching at higher levels. But, there was a problem. Many states in the south had laws. These laws stopped Black Americans from going to colleges or universities. So, Meredith went north. She studied at a university in New York in 1928. Meredith earned a new degree that would allow her to teach fine arts.
In 1930, the Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute changed its name. It was now the Virginia State College for Negroes. Meredith took a job there that same year teaching art. She ended up staying at the college for nearly thirty years. While there, Meredith even created the college’s very first art department.
While teaching at Virginia State College, Meredith made a big decision. Even though she had never studied as an architect, she could use her art skills to design homes anyway! Meredith was inspired by the sights and styles of New York. So, she started planning her very first building — her own home!
This structure, called Azurest South, was built in 1939 at the edge of the college campus. In designing Azurest, Meredith worked with a popular architectural style called the International Style. It typically used glass, steel, and concrete as building materials. The structures were also characterized by wide open spaces on the inside and flat, rectangular shapes on the outside.
Later, in the 1950s, Meredith set her eyes on New York once again. This time, she worked with others to buy land. She helped turn it into a community for Black Americans. This area was called Azurest North. It was set in Sag Harbor, New York. Meredith designed at least two buildings there. One was called Edendot. The other was Terry Cottage. Meredith’s sister, Maude Terry, lived there. Amaza Lee Meredith from teaching in 1958. She lived and painted in Azurest South for years afterward. She later died in 1984.
Amaza Lee Meredith is remembered as one of the first Black female architects in U.S. history. Today, Azurest South is part of the campus at Virginia State University (VSU). Cheryl Mango teaches history at the university. “Amaza Lee Meredith represents the highest possibilities of America at a time where African Americans faced severe challenges,” she told News-O-Matic. Mango called Azurest South a “symbol of Meredith’s fortitude and creativity.”
By Tyler Burdick
Updated February 3, 2025, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
