01/21/2024
One of our Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity founders The Southern Region of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.Mississippi Alpha Network
Vertner Woodson Tandy is a lot of firsts. He was the first registered black architect in New York State, the first black architect to belong to the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the first black man to pass the military commissioning exam. Tandy, while attending Cornell University, was also a founding member of the nation’s oldest African American fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha.
As an architect, Tandy designed the 1910 St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Harlem, the first black Episcopal church in New York. He also designed the 1918 Villa Lewaro for black self-made millionaire and cosmetics entrepreneur, Madam C.J. Walker. The Georgian-style residence is considered his masterpiece.
