Julian Francis Abele (April 30, 1881 – April 23, 1950)
He was a prominent African-American architect, and chief designer in the offices of Horace Trumbauer.

He contributed to the design of more than 400 buildings, including the Widener Memorial Library at Harvard University (1912–15), Parkway Central Library (1917–27), and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1914–28).

He was the primary designer of the west campus of Duke University (1924–54).

Abele's contributions to the Trumbauer firm were great, but because of racism the only building for which he was allowed to claim authorship during Trumbauer's lifetime was the Duke University Chapel; after Trumbauer's death, he was more open in claiming credit for his work, which included the original architectural drawings for Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Julian Abele was the chief designer and draftsman at Philadelphia-based Horace Trumbauer, Architect, the firm responsible for creating the Duke campus we know today. Abele, also the first black architecture student at University of Pennsylvania, helped design Duke's most well-known landmarks, such as Duke Chapel, Rubenstein Library, and Wallace Wade Stadium

He was the first black student admitted to the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. This achievement was all the more noteworthy for the restrictions blacks faced at the university, including not being able to live in dormitories or dine in the school's cafeteria.

On projects assigned to pairs of students, he partnered with Louis Magaziner, the only Jewish student in the department, who also faced discrimination. This was the beginning of a lifelong friendship between the two.

He won a 1901 student competition to design a Beaux Arts pedestrian gateway. His submission was in the form of an exedra – a curved bench flanked by piers, but with steps passing through its center. This became his first commission when it was built on the campus of Haverford College. The Edward B. Conklin Memorial Gate stands at the Railroad Avenue entrance to the college.

He was widely respected among his peers, earning the nickname "Willing and Able", and also won student awards for his designs for a post office and a museum of botany, and he was elected as the president of the university's Architectural Society.

He became the University of Pennsylvania architecture department's first black graduate in 1902. He worked part-time for a local architect and attend evening classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Under the financial sponsorship of Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer, he traveled through France and Italy, an experience that was to influence his design work throughout his life.

Immediately after his graduation from Penn in 1902, Abele traveled west to Spokane, Washington, where he designed a house for his sister, Elizabeth Abele Cook, before returning east.

In 1906, Abele joined the Trumbauer firm as assistant to chief designer Frank Seeburger. When Seeburger left the firm in 1909, Abele advanced to chief designer. Abele's stature within the firm was no secret; he was the second-highest paid employee. He was an architect.

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