Emanuel Kelly, groundbreaking architect, longtime Temple professor, and social equity advocate, has died at 80

Emanuel Kelly, 80, of Philadelphia, a renowned architect, longtime Temple University professor, and prolific social equity and affordable-housing advocate, died Friday, Jan. 12, of complications from a pulmonary embolism at his home in University City.

Mr. Kelly was a founding partner of Kelly Maiello Architects, one of the first Black-owned architectural firms in the city and the design inspiration behind such local landmarks as the President’s House at Independence National Historical Park, and the Pennsylvania Convention Center and Reading Terminal Market in Center City.

He was an expert at city planning, urban design, and neighborhood revitalization, and he and his colleagues refurbished the courthouses at City Hall and created the new West Philadelphia High School. He worked on the Criminal Justice Center, Philadelphia Museum of Art, John Coltrane Museum, Philadelphia Zoo, and numerous other public places and churches in the region.

He never retired and was, among other things, on the current design team for the African American Museum of Bucks County. His work was recognized by the Beyond the Built Environment advocacy group and many other organizations, and his honors include the Minority Enterprise Development Committee’s 2002 Pioneer Award, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s 2010 Visionary in Historic Preservation Award, and the 2020 Medal of Distinction from the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

“Kelly left an impressive legacy as a leader, architect, educator, and advocate in a city he dedicated his life to shaping,“ colleagues at the Association for Public Art said in a tribute.

Mr. Kelly was especially interested in connecting historic preservation to affordable housing, and he championed developments that mirrored the traditional architecture of their neighborhoods. He told the University City Historical Society in a 2023 online interview that he liked to drive through neighborhoods he had worked in and see that his buildings were still vibrant and enduring. “It feels good,” he said.

He enjoyed the intimacy and affordability of his old college-days neighborhoods in Boston and current home near Clark Park in West Philly, and he included those features in many of his designs. “I’m privileged to be here,” he told the UC Historical Society. “How do I give something back?”

He cofounded the Community Design Collaborative in 1991 to improve social equity for local nonprofits and was active with the Design Advocacy Group and National Organization of Minority Architects. In 1993, he became the first Black president of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Mr. Kelly was a professor of architecture at Temple for more than two decades before retiring in the early 2000s, and students praised his insights and classroom affability in a tribute. “His influence on me and others cannot be overlooked or overstated,” one student said.

He was also chairman of the Philadelphia Art Commission in 2015 and a member of the Fairmount Park Art Association, Philadelphia Zoning Reform Commission, and Philadelphia Community Development Forum. One colleague said in a tribute: “His gentle and persistent style to eloquently rally behind what he believed to be right and appropriate always gave space for open dialogue.”

Emanuel Kelly was born Sept. 18, 1943, in Philadelphia. He grew up in West Philadelphia and graduated from West Philadelphia High School.

He became adept at working construction jobs in the 1960s and eventually assumed more responsibilities for design and project management. He started night classes at Drexel University in 1961 and graduated in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

He went on to earn a master’s degree in city planning and urban design at Harvard University in 1974. He worked at first with Mitchell/Giurgola architects in Philadelphia and Stull & Lee in Boston, and finally started Kelly Maiello in Philadelphia with longtime friend Vincent Maiello in 1976.

He married Joyce Wilson, his high school sweetheart, in 1961, and they had daughter Stacey and son Marq. After a divorce, he met Dyan Doughty in an elevator. They married in 1978, had son Ian, and lived for the next 45 years in a three-story Queen Anne-style house that, of course, Mr. Kelly refurbished himself.

Called just “Kelly” by family and most friends, Mr. Kelly loved to smoke cigars with his son Ian and wear his signature beret as he strolled around town. He and his wife traveled the country often and made memorable visits to Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, and elsewhere.

He liked to read about art and history, and devoured the Miss Fortune mysteries by Jana DeLeon. He was generous and witty, his family said, and known for his hearty laugh.

He received a new kidney in 2014, and his daughter-in-law Jennifer became his personal chef and mentee as he grew older. His colleagues at Kelly Maiello said in a tribute: “His loss will be keenly and widely felt, but we will remember him forever in our company name and in our hearts.”

His wife said, “He was reserved and dignified. Everybody had something good to say about Kelly.”

In addition to his wife, sons, and daughter-in-law, Mr. Kelly is survived by four grandchildren and other relatives. His daughter, former wife, and a brother died earlier.

Memorial services are to be held later.

Donations in his name may be made to the National Kidney Foundation, 30 E. 33rd St., New York, N.Y. 10016.