Profile: Amaza Lee Meredith, Designing Spaces for Belonging 

Architect • Artist • Educator • Community Builder

One image introduces Amaza Lee Meredith, a pioneering designer whose creativity crossed the boundaries of architecture, art, and education. The other features Azurest South, the remarkable modernist home she designed as both a residence and a living laboratory for new architectural ideas. Together, these images tell a story of innovation expressed through both people and place. Meredith believed architecture should reflect beauty, individuality, and community while creating spaces where people could flourish. Her work challenged expectations about who could shape the built environment and demonstrated that thoughtful design could become an expression of hope, identity, and belonging. Her story begins with a young woman whose imagination transformed obstacles into opportunities for generations to come.

Overview:

Amaza Lee Meredith (1895–1984) was a pioneering architect, artist, educator, and community developer whose work expanded opportunities for African Americans in architecture and the visual arts. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, to a Black mother and a White father at a time when interracial marriage was illegal in Virginia, Meredith excelled academically and graduated at the top of her high school class. Although racial and gender discrimination discouraged her from pursuing architecture as a formal profession, she earned degrees in fine arts from Teachers College, Columbia University and returned to Virginia State University, where she founded the institution's art department. Meredith designed Azurest South, one of Virginia's earliest International Style homes, and later co-developed Azurest North in Sag Harbor, New York, a vacation community created for African American families during segregation. Through teaching, architecture, and community planning, she demonstrated how thoughtful design could expand opportunity and enrich everyday life. 

From Drawing to Landmark

This collage follows Amaza Lee Meredith's Azurest South through three stages—from the architect's original design to her personal record of the completed home and, ultimately, its recognition as a National Historic Landmark. The architectural drawing at left reveals Meredith's plans and ideas for the house. At center is a photograph from Meredith's personal scrapbook, documenting Azurest South after completion. Beneath the photograph, Meredith wrote, “It is finished. It is done.” At right, the National Historic Landmark nomination records the property's later recognition and identifies Meredith as its architect and designer.

Together, these three primary-source artifacts offer something rarely found in a biographical profile: Meredith's own architectural work, her personal documentation of what she created, and the official record recognizing its lasting significance.

Quick Facts:

• Born August 14, 1895, in Lynchburg, Virginia

• Graduated at the top of her high school class

• Earned bachelor's and master's degrees in fine arts from Teachers College, Columbia University

• Founded the Art Department at Virginia State University

• Served as Chair of Virginia State's Art Department

• Artist, educator, architect, and interior designer

• Designed Azurest South (1939), an early International Style home in Virginia

• Co-founded Azurest North, a historic African American vacation community in Sag Harbor, New York

• Helped introduce modern design principles at Virginia State University

• Designed homes, interiors, and community developments throughout her career

• Left Azurest South to the Virginia State University Alumni Association

• Azurest South is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

• Died in 1984.

Why This Story Matters:

Amaza Lee Meredith challenged barriers that limited both women and African Americans in architecture while demonstrating that design could improve lives beyond individual buildings. At a time when few Black women had opportunities to practice architecture, she combined her talents as an educator, artist, and designer to influence students, communities, and institutions. Meredith believed that attractive, thoughtfully planned spaces could foster creativity, dignity, and belonging. Her work at Virginia State University helped establish fine arts as an important field of study, while Azurest North created opportunities for Black families to own vacation homes during an era when segregation restricted access to many recreational communities. Her career reminds us that architecture is not only about constructing buildings but also about creating environments where people feel welcomed, respected, and inspired. 

From Community to Creativity to Landmark

This collage captures three dimensions of Amaza Lee Meredith's work and legacy. At right, the 1947 Azurest subdivision map documents the planned community in Sag Harbor, New York, developed by Meredith and her sister, Maude Terry, for African American families seeking a place to own homes and enjoy leisure during segregation. At lower left, Meredith is shown painting in her studio at Azurest South, the former garage she converted into the “Wreck Room” in 1959. The photograph provides a glimpse of Meredith not simply as an architect, but as an artist whose creative work continued throughout her life. Above it is a photograph of a house in the Azurest community, connecting Meredith's plans for the community to the homes that followed.

Together, the images show Meredith's creativity extending beyond a single building—from shaping a Black residential community, to creating and inhabiting spaces of her own, to pursuing art within the home she designed. Her work at Azurest South has since received the highest level of federal historic recognition: National Historic Landmark designation in 2024.

Legacy:

Amaza Lee Meredith's legacy reaches beyond architecture into education, community development, and artistic expression. Through her teaching at Virginia State University, she encouraged students to view art and design as meaningful professions while helping establish one of the university's enduring academic programs. Her architectural work demonstrated that modern design could reflect both innovation and cultural identity, while Azurest North created a welcoming retreat where African American families could enjoy recreation and homeownership during segregation. Today, Azurest South stands as a National Historic Landmark, and Azurest North remains a thriving historic community, ensuring that Meredith's vision of beauty, inclusion, and opportunity continues to inspire new generations. 

Discussion Questions:

1. Amaza Lee Meredith combined art, education, and architecture throughout her career. How can knowledge from different fields help someone solve problems in creative ways?

2. Meredith helped create Azurest North because many Black families were excluded from other vacation communities. During segregation, how might access to a welcoming place like Azurest North have affected the people and families who gathered there? 

3. Architecture often reflects the values of the people who design it. What values do you think Meredith wanted her buildings and communities to communicate?

Reflection Prompt:

1. Amaza Lee Meredith faced barriers because of both her race and her gender, yet she continued creating spaces where others could learn, gather, and belong. How might her experiences have influenced the kinds of communities she chose to design?

Sources & Further Reading:

1. “Amaza Lee Meredith.” Pioneering Women of American Architecture. Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation. Website. 

2. “Amaza Lee Meredith.” Virginia State University. Website. 

3. “Transcendent Design.” Richmond Magazine. January 27, 2025. Website. 

4. “Amaza Lee Meredith.” Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. February 14, 2021. Website. 

5. “Spotlight On: Amaza Lee Meredith.” Preservation Virginia. June 5, 2023. Website. 

6. “Amaza Lee Meredith.” Black Architects Archive. Website. 

7. Long Road to Freedom: An African American History of Long Island. Long Island Museum. Website. 

8. Azurest South National Historic Landmark Nomination. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Website. 

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