The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) of the Michigan Strategic Fund has been awarded a $75,000 grant from the Historic Preservation Fund’s Underrepresented Communities Grant program administered by the National Park Service (NPS), the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced.

The grant funds will hire a preservation consultant to prepare a study on the work of Nathan Johnson (1926-2021), an important Detroit-based modernist architect. The study will include a survey of Johnson’s work and preparation of a historic context. The information gathered during this phase will be used to nominate a property designed by Johnson to the National Register of Historic Places and produce a Multiple Property Documentation Form, which will make it easier to list other Johnson-designed places in the National Register in the future. Together, the study and National Register components will help to better tell the story of Johnson’s work and his influence in the Detroit metropolitan area. Noir Design Parti, a Detroit-based non-profit whose mission is to document the contributions of Detroit’s Black architects in the city, will serve as an advisor on the project.

“Funding from the National Park Service’s Underrepresented Communities Grant program will allow SHPO to further its work in bringing broader awareness to the histories of underrepresented communities across Michigan,” said State Historic Preservation Officer Ryan Schumaker. “In partnership with Noir Design Parti, we will use these grant dollars to bring greater visibility to Nathan Johnson’s work and increased understanding of his lasting influence on architecture and design in the state.”

A graduate of Kansas State University, Johnson moved to Detroit in 1950 and worked in the offices of Donald White, Michigan’s first licensed Black architect in Michigan, and Los Angeles-based Victor Gruen before starting his own firm in 1956 on West Grand Boulevard. Johnson first rose to prominence through his commissions for small Black congregations in Detroit, with his affinity for Modern design becoming a hallmark of his work. Into the 1960s, Johnson’s firm received increasingly larger commissions, including churches, offices, businesses, housing, and more. He also worked alongside the City of Detroit in various efforts, including his appointment as the Board of Education’s first Black architect in 1965 and being retained to design Detroit’s People Mover Stations in the 1970s. Through it all, Johnson was a proactive voice in helping to shape the mid-twentieth century landscape of the city and supported other Black professionals in the city, serving as a mentor for many Black architects of the period.

“Documenting the legacy of Detroit’s Black architects is essential to telling a fuller and more accurate story of our city,” said Saundra Little, FAIA, NOMA of Noir Design Parti. “Nathan Johnson was an AIA Detroit Gold Medal recipient and one of the most influential architects shaping Detroit’s modern landscape—a significant architect who also happened to be Black. His story deserves to be part of the official narrative of Michigan’s architectural heritage, and we are honored to support this effort to ensure his work is recognized and preserved for future generations.”

While Johnson was an accomplished architect who made significant contributions to southeast Michigan’s built environment and impacted the lives of many, his work has yet to be formally documented from a historic preservation perspective. This project will help to enhance public awareness of his work and will formally recognize his important place in Michigan’s architectural history as part of the National Register, which is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. The survey, context, and National Register documentation will also simplify the process of future efforts to nominate his work by property owners, thus increasing access to preservation programs and incentives that can help to protect his legacy.