1906 & 2017 -- Lincoln Gates, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee AL
N 32° 25.741 W 085° 42.498
16S E 621441 N 3588724
Two photos of the Lincoln Gate at Tuskegee University over 111 years show the changes to the campus and environment at this esteemed place of higher education
Waymark Code: WMWHGZ
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 09/07/2017
Views: 1
The Lincoln Gates are located at the intersection of W Montgomery Drive and Booker T Washington Boulevard. Pass through these historic and beautiful gates to enter the campus of Tuskegee University and the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site.
The gates were built in 1906, and a photo of them at that time with Tuskegee Institute students is on file in the Library of Congress: (
visit link) In this photo, the 1896 Tuskegee Institute Chapel (destroyed by fire in 1957) can be plainly seen.
Many of the early buildings at Tuskegee Institute (founded 1881) were built with bricks that were handmade by students. Over 1.2 million handmade bricks went into the Chapel alone. Source: National Park Service.
The main Lincoln gate supports are made of handmade brick and limestone tops that date to before 1906. The modern metal gates themselves are made of decorative metal panels controlled by hydraulic mechanisms.
In later years, the Lincoln Gates have been expanded to accomodate automobile traffic, landscaped and modernized with mechanical gates. A golden university seal was inset between the original 1906 gates after 1985, when the Tuskegee Institute attained University status.
The "then" photo is in the public domain at the Library of Congress. The photographer is unknown, but the Detroit Publishing Co. is listed as the owner. The date of the photograph is 1906. See: (
visit link)
The "now" photo was taken by Mama Blaster on 28 Jul 2017.