The David R. Byrd papers include correspondence, reports, drawings, plans, and photographs regarding the life of David Byrd, his career in architecture, and his civic activism. The papers contain material on churches and other projects Byrd designed in Ann Arbor and Washington D.C., documentation of his interest in city planning and zoning issues in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County and his interest in the school system and the African-American community in Ann Arbor.
David R. Byrd (1921-1987) was born in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Hampton Institute in 1942, he remained in the Washington area, where he became a practicing architect in 1951, and a teacher at Springarn High School in 1952.
Byrd's early projects included residential homes, a medical office building, and the headquarters of the Capitol Cab Association. In 1959, Andrew Bryant, a graduate of Howard University, became a partner in Byrd's firm, and by 1964, the two men had $11 million in commissions for projects in the region (Box 1, folder "David R. Byrd and Andrew Bryant: Million Dollar Architects," magazine article).
In the 1960s, Byrd designed office buildings and schools. including an addition to the Rudolph Elementary School in 1965. However, the majority of his clients were churches, and Byrd earned special merit for his designs of the New Berean Baptist Church in 1968, and the Miles Memorial CME Church in 1970.
In 1966, Byrd married Letitia Johnson and moved to Ann Arbor. He was part of the "founding faculty" of Washtenaw Community College, and he served on the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners (1968-1972) and the Ann Arbor City Planning Commission (1968-1971).
Byrd continued to design buildings after his relocation to Ann Arbor, including the New Hope Baptist Church, and an old farmhouse, which he restored, renamed "Sunny Pastures," and used as his office for the rest of his career. Byrd also built a small chapel near the farmhouse. At his death, it was renamed the "David R. Byrd Chapel," and bequeathed by his widow, Letitia Byrd, to the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation.
In 1981, David and Letitia Byrd were part of a group of Ann Arbor residents who founded the Ann Arbor Alliance for Achievement in Academics and the Arts, which provided scholarships for African-American students. Byrd also served on Ann Arbor's Human Rights Commission in early 1970s, and continued to speak out on behalf of civil rights and the need for affordable housing in Ann Arbor and other communities. He died in 1987 "following a lengthy illness" (Box 1, folder "Memorials of David Byrd," obituary, Ann Arbor News, May 17, 1987).
