This Day in History: 1881-04-21

Master architect Julian Francis Abele is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Abele designed the Philadelphia Free Library, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Widener Memorial Library on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, churches, mausoleums, banks, stores, school buildings, hotels, and apartments. He designed three of the buildings on the Duke University campus: the Duke University Chapel, the Cameron Indoor Stadium (one of the most revered athletic venues in the world), and the Allen Administrative Building. In all, Abele designed or helped design over 400 buildings in his career and was elected to the American Institute of Architects. Abele also worked with wood, ceramics, iron, copper, brass, precious metals, stained glass, and water colors, producing furniture, jewelry, paintings, and lithographs. Learn more.