Archie A. Alexander

(1888-1958)

Civil Engineer, Construction Engineer

Archie A. Alexander, Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Archie A. Alexander, an engineer, headed his own civil engineering firm for more than forty years. Among the numerous projects his firm completed are Washington, D.C.’s Tidal Basin Bridge and the K Street Freeway. Although it was, at that time, not illegal to deny work on the basis of race, Alexander competed successfully with white firms building bridges, airfields, sewer systems, and power plants all over the United States. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Alexander governor of the Virgin Islands. The papers of Archie Alphonse Alexander are now housed at the University of Iowa Libraries.

Addison N. Scurlock was a prominent social photographer whose career began in the early 1900s, and spanned more than six decades. His Washington, D.C. studio was a center for documenting the intellectual and cultural life of African Americans in the nation’s capital. His camera focused on educators, artists, scientists, musicians, politicians, and, of course, on the general populace.

Links to Additional Information

Biography from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland

Biography from BlackPast.org

Archie Alphonso Alexander, from the Biographical Dictionary of Iowa