Clarence Wesley Wigington (1883-1967)

In light of Black History month, Spark is honoring historical and present-day figures emblematic of the past, present, and future of Black urban planners, architects, designers, and forward thinkers. Our first Black History Month post is brought to you by Spark's Urban Development Coordinator Clarice Dombeck. 

Clarice chose to honor Clarence Wesley Wigington. Wigington was the nation's first Black municipal architect. He was a nationally renowned architect; sixty of his buildings still stand in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and two still stand in Omaha, Nebraska, the Broomfield Rowhouse, and Zion Baptist Church. Wigington designed homes for many prominent individuals in the Black community, including John H. Broomfield. Wiginton designed the Broomfield Rowhouse and the Crutchfield Rowhouse; the homes were constructed in 1913.

The Broomfield Row House still stands today and is on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the Broomfield and Crutchfield Rowhouse, Wigington designed Zion Baptist Church. St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church was destroyed by the 1913 Easter Sunday Tornado. Wigington redesigned what was St. John AME Church in 1915; construction of the New Zion Baptist Church began and was completed seven years later in 1922. At one point, Zion Baptist Church had the city's most prominent African American congregation. Today Zion Baptist Church is one of the oldest congregations in Nebraska.