Two residential halls at Tuskegee University are getting a major facelift, and their renovation is also helping expand awareness about the two pioneering Black figures whose names are attached to the buildings.

Officials at the historically Black university described the $44 million overhaul to Lewis Adams Hall and Olivia Davidson Hall as a “commitment to enhance the student on-campus experience.” The renovations, which began last month, are expected to be completed in August, just in time for fall semester.

The revived Lewis Adams Hall, which spans over 52,000 square feet, will offer 152 beds. The restored Olivia Davidson Hall, at nearly 39,000 square feet, will provide 146 beds.

The project is being funded by Rice Capital, which specializes in supporting projects at historically Black colleges and universities (HCBUs) and the U.S. Department of Education. The project will transform the old, traditional dormitory spaces into “contemporary 2-bed and 4-bed suite-style units,” university officials said. The buildings will also offer new amenities, including classroom/study areas, laundry facilities, shared spaces and a post office.

The names attached to the two dormitories hark back to the early days of what was originally called Tuskegee State Normal School for Colored Teachers. Indeed, Adams’ connection to Tuskegee goes back to before its founding in 1881.

An illustration of Tuskegee State Normal School (Encyclopedia of Alabama)

A former slave, Adams was an influential Black leader in Macon County during Reconstruction when African-Americans in the South enjoyed a brief period of influence as new voters – a right they would lose just a few years later when federal authorities withdrew and Southern states imposed Jim Crow segregation laws and other measures to restrict Black voting.

According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, Lewis suggested to Wilbur F. Foster, a white Democrat seeking re-election to the Alabama Senate, that developing a school for Blacks in Macon County would win him Black votes. The two struck a deal and following Foster’s re-election, he steered a bill through the Legislature to develop a school for Blacks in Tuskegee that also allocated $2,000 annually to compensate teachers.

A board of commissioners for the school was created that included Adams, and the panel began a search for the school’s first faculty member and leader. It chose 25-year-old Booker T. Washington, also a former slave and an instructor at Virginia’s Hampton Institute (now Hampton University).

Although Lewis received no formal education, he could read and write and spoke several foreign languages. He later translated Italian, French and German for Washington when Washington traveled to Europe. Adams’ daughter, Virginia, became the first graduate of Tuskegee State Normal School.

Olivia Davidson Hall is named after Washington’s second wife. Born free in 1854 in Ohio, Davidson began teaching at age 16 and was hired by Washington in 1881 as a teacher and assistant principal at Tuskegee after graduating from Hampton and then, with honors from the State Normal School in Framingham, Massachusetts (now Framingham State University). In those days, the term “Normal School” referred to institutions that specialized in teaching teachers.

Davidson became a close working partner with Washington in building what became Tuskegee Institute. They married in 1886, two years after the death of Washington’s first wife. The couple had two children before Davidson died of tuberculosis in 1889.

Historic White Hall, at Tuskegee University, constructed in 1909. (Justin Dubois / Encyclopedia of Alabama)

Lewis Adams Hall at Tuskegee University, which is undergoing a major renovation. (Tuskegee University)

Inside Adams Hall as renovations proceed. (Tuskegee University)

Officials at Tuskegee University said the renovations to the two historic residence halls underscore the institution’s “dedication to providing state-of-the-art living facilities that exceed modern comfort, safety and academic success standards.

“These historical buildings, integral to the university’s heritage, are poised to enter a new era,” Tuskegee officials said in a news release.

“Olivia Davidson Hall has been a beacon of female empowerment and education since its establishment,” the news release said. “Lewis Adams Hall, reflecting the university’s growth, has long stood as a symbol of academic and residential life on campus.

“The renovation … showcases the university’s proactive approach to student welfare and academic excellence.”

Learn more about Lewis Adams here. Learn more about Olivia Davidson here. Learn more about Tuskegee University at Tuskegee.edu.