During Black History Month, LeChase is spotlighting several current and recent projects named to honor prominent Black Americans.
Duke University Reuben-Cooke Building
LeChase is scheduled to kick off renovations this spring on the Reuben-Cooke Building at Duke University. This classroom building on the school’s west campus is named after Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke, who in 1963 became one of Duke’s first five Black undergraduates. Afterward, Reuben-Cooke went on to become a successful attorney, law professor and university administrator. To learn more about her, click here.
Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport
LeChase has completed a variety of modernization projects at the Greater Rochester International Airport over the years and is scheduled to begin the next phase of updates next month. In 2021, the Airport was renamed to honor Frederick Douglass, a prominent social reformer, statesman, publisher and orator who lived in Rochester, N.Y. from 1847 to 1872. In addition to being a leader of the abolitionist movement to end slavery, Douglass was also a vocal supporter of women’s rights. To learn more about him, click here.
Durham Public Schools Murray-Massenburg Elementary School
This year, LeChase will complete construction of the Durham Public School’s (DPS) new Murray-Massenburg Elementary School. DPS named its new school after two trailblazing women: Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray an attorney and civil rights activist who was the first Black person to earn a juris doctorate from Yale Law School; and Betty Doretha Massenburg, who in 1975 became the first Black female principal in Durham. To learn more about Murray and Massenburg, click here.
Adams Intercultural Center at Hobart & William Smith Colleges
LeChase served as construction manager for the Adams Intercultural Center at Hobart & William Smith Colleges. After the renovations were complete in 2022, the facility – which provides a welcoming environment for student and community gatherings – was renamed to honor Rev. Dr. Alger L. Adams. Adams, who graduated magna cum laude in 1932, was the first Black man to receive a degree from Hobart. To learn more about him, click here.
