Thomas Boyde Jr

Thomas Wilson Boyde, Jr. (1905–1981), was an American architect. He was the first African-American graduate of the School of Architecture of Syracuse University and the first African-American architect in Rochester, New York.

Early life and education Thomas Wilson Boyde, Jr. was born on December 25, 1905, in Washington, D.C.

Career When the Rochester architect who designed what later was renamed Monroe Community Hospital hired Boyde as one of his assistants, the latter's decorative style of corner windows and curved walls had a chance to develop. The second largest category of his designs were restaurants. A 2020 local TV news article said "What exactly he's responsible for designing is still debated today." A $300,000 project "to fund a cultural resource survey of the architecture of Thomas W. Boyde Jr." was announced later that year.

Boyde's profile was included in the biographical dictionary African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865–1945 (2004).

Personal life He married at age 24 in 1930. He and the former Jennie Jones had three children. In later life he had multiple sclerosis, and died at age 75.

Works

Monroe County Home and Infirmary (now Monroe Community Hospital) (1933), Rochester, New York; designed with Sigmund Firestone Assoc. architect Blue Label Food Plant (1936), 460 Buffalo Road, Rochester, New York; designed with Sigmund Firestone Assoc. architect Lawrence Collins residence (1939), 4425 Douglas Street NE, Washington, D.C. Carver House (1943), 192 Ormond Street, Rochester, New York