George Washington Foster

Who was George Washington Foster?

George Washington Foster was an early African-American architect. He was among the first African-American architects licensed by the State of New Jersey in 1908, and later New York. The first African-American architect licensed by the State of New York was Vertner Woodson Tandy, who partnered with Forster in the firm of Tandy and Foster, which was active from 1908 to 1914.

Born December 1866 in Newark, New Jersey, Foster is said to have attended Cooper Union and worked in the office of Henry Hardenbergh from 1888 to 1889, who designed the New York City landmarks Dakota Apartment Building, Plaza Hotel, and the first Waldorf-Astoria, on the present site of the Empire State Building. During his time with Hardenbergh, he would have worked on the Waldorf Hotel. He may also have worked on the Flatiron Building, designed by the Chicago-based firm of D. H. Burnham.

The firm of Tandy & Foster designed St. Philip's Episcopal Church in 1910. After 1915, Foster was licensed to practice in New York and maintained his own office until his death.

He died 1923 in a house he designed on Colony Avenue, in Bergen County, Park Ridge, New Jersey.