Ralph Thomas Walker Quotes
When I severe my connections with the A.I.A. I do so with my own self respect, as a matter of pride and I am sure within your knowledge of my character.
Walker, Ralph Thomas. Letter of Resignation to the American Institute of Architects. 1959. Quoted in Ralph Walker: Architect of the Century, by Kathryn E. Holliday, Rizzoli, 2012.
Battle was the grandson of a Revolutionary war soldier and the son of a former slave. He was the first person inducted into the New York City Police Force when it was first organized after the consolidation of the boroughs in 1898. He became the first Black Police Sargent and the first Black Lieutenant of the city and was probably the only Black senior police officer in the country at that time.
Ralph Thomas Walker FAIA was an American architect, president of the American Institute of Architects and partner of the firm McKenzie, Voorhees, Gmelin; and its successor firms Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker, Voorhees, Walker, Foley & Smith; Voorhees, Walker, Smith & Smith; and Voorhees, Walker, Smith, Smith & Haines. Walker is best known for his designs for the Barclay–Vesey Building (1922–26) and 1 Wall Street (1928–31), but was also involved in numerous other Art Deco telecommunications buildings in the New York City area.
