The city’s iconic Ebony test kitchen, which developed some of the magazine’s popular recipes in African American cuisine, has found a permanent home in Washington, D.C.
The slice of Chicago history is headed to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., where it will be a part of the permanent collection, the museum announced Tuesday.
There is no grand opening date set, but the kitchen will eventually be featured as part of an initiative highlighting the intersection of food and culture in the African American community during the modern era through digitization, the museum said.
Landmarks Illinois, which acquired the kitchen in 2018, saving it from demolition, donated it to the museum. The kitchen will hopefully be on display in the museum next year, the organization said, but in the meantime it will undergo conservation work.
“The Ebony test kitchen is a living, breathing testament to the power of Black excellence and innovation in the culinary world,” Kevin Young, the Andrew W. Mellon director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, said in a statement. “The kitchen was a place where recipes were reimagined, flavors were explored and stories were shared— a place that celebrates Black history and culture in a way that was not only inspiring but delicious.”
Sandra Rand, a member of Landmarks Illinois’ board of directors, said the kitchen represents “courageous and iconic moments in our history, not only in African American history, but in U.S. history period.”
Rand added that its place in the museum ensures that future generations will get to learn about the kitchen’s legacy.
“I’m a firm believer that if we don’t intentionally preserve our history, whether it’s in written form or in physical form, it will be forgotten,” she said.
The 26-by-13-foot Ebony test kitchen was built in 1972 and was previously housed on the 10th floor of the Johnson Publishing Co. building at 820 S. Michigan Ave.
It was considered one of the most modern kitchens of its kind. The recipes it helped create were shared with home cooks across the country in Ebony magazine and cookbooks.
The Johnson building was designed by John Warren Moutoussamy, who became the first Black architect to design a building on Michigan Avenue when it opened in 1971. Johnson Publishing Co., with its Ebony and Jet magazines, inspired countless Black people around the world.
The two magazines portrayed successful Black doctors, lawyers, businessmen and celebrities in a glossy magazine format in an era when such publications were typically filled with images of white, fair-haired men and women. The company sold the magazines in 2016 and filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
After the Johnson Publishing Co. building was sold in 2010, the threat of demolition loomed as developers had plans to convert it for residential use. But thanks to a grassroots effort, the building was designated a Chicago landmark in 2017 and saved.
However, the designation didn’t protect its interior, and the kitchen was still at risk of being lost. In 2018, Landmarks Illinois purchased the kitchen for $1 from the developer after receiving a tip from Chicago architecture critic Lee Bey, now a Sun-Times editorial board member. The kitchen was carefully removed piece by piece, restored and put in storage.
In 2019, the test kitchen was lent to the Museum of Food and Drink in New York, which featured it as part of its exhibit, African/American: Making the Nation’s Table. The museum rebuilt two rooms and reproduced some of its iconic elements like its distinctive swirled orange, purple and avocado green wallpaper.
Former Ebony food editor Charlotte Lyons described the feeling of being surrounded by the bold kitchen wallpaper in a video produced by the Museum of Food and Drink in March 2022.
“You could almost taste the colors, smell the colors; it made you happy,” Lyons said. “If you came into that kitchen it would make you smile. Everybody used to love coming in that kitchen.”
Lyons said many newsmakers visited the kitchen when she worked at the magazine, including former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who came to Ebony the day after he was elected.
The food museum’s exhibit ran from February to July 2022 at the Africa Center in Manhattan. Rand said she remembers the feeling she had when stepping into the restored kitchen at the museum.
“It was such a moving experience,” Rand said. “It’s a very emotional engagement when you’re actually in the space. It’s almost this psychedelic physical environment.”
The space was designed by Palm Springs-based interior designers William Raiser and Arthur Elrod of Arthur Elrod Associates, according to the Smithsonian. The visual aesthetic of the test kitchen has been described as “Afrocentric modernism,” “psychedelic” and “bold.”
Landmark Illinois had hoped to find a permanent home for the kitchen after the loan, Rand said, but the organization was “exhilarated” that the Smithsonian stepped up to house the kitchen.
She hopes visitors will experience the same emotions she had when she saw the kitchen restored to its former glory in New York.
“It was a wonderful personal experience and one that the country, I think, is going to completely embrace,” Rand said.
Contributing: Cindy Hernandez, Jon Seidel
