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Divine Nine spaces are campus landscapes that commemorate the Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) known collectively as the Divine Nine. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) uses “Divine Nine Spaces” as the title of an educational webinar series about these places and the Black landscape architects who design them. They can be gardens, plazas, monuments, trees, benches, or other designed spaces—not one fixed type of structure.
The places matter because they connect landscape design with Black student history, cultural recognition, and public memory. Examples at Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Auburn, and Howard show how commemoration can take different physical forms.
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ASLA frames these landscapes against a history of Black students entering predominantly white institutions during the first half of the twentieth century and facing racism and exclusion from campus organizations. Black students formed their own Greek-letter organizations and created communities and places where they could feel welcomed and see their culture celebrated. The resulting spaces honor those organizations, their founders, and their continuing legacies.
This history helps explain why these sites are more than decorative campus improvements. They make the presence and contributions of Black students visible in places where they were not always welcomed. A garden, plaza, or monument can give that history a physical address: somewhere to gather, reflect, and encounter a commemoration as part of the campus landscape.
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ASLA’s March 7, 2023 recap notes that BGLOs were forming as early as 1906. That date is a historical detail reported in the recap, not a comprehensive account of every organization’s founding. The same recap identifies Wake Forest University’s Pan-Hellenic Garden as built in 2010.
For context on the landscape-design focus, ASLA describes the webinar series as a way to explore Black historic landscapes and pioneering Black landscape architects whose work commemorates BGLOs. The subject is therefore both the organizations’ histories and the ways designers give those histories a place in the campus environment. ASLA’s Divine Nine Spaces series presents the topic in that combined historical and design context.
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What does “Divine Nine” refer to?
“Divine Nine” refers to the nine historically Black Greek-letter organizations of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). Their names, as listed by ASLA, are:
- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated
- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated
- Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated
- Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated
- Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated
- Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated
- Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated
- Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Incorporated
These organizations have distinct names and identities, even when a campus landscape commemorates them together. The collective term is useful for understanding the shared subject of these spaces; it does not mean every garden, plaza, or monument represents all nine organizations. The particular project determines whom it commemorates.
The name is also not a design specification. A project described as a Divine Nine space might recognize the council collectively, represent several organizations, or focus on an individual organization. Readers should check the site’s inscription or project description rather than infer representation from the collective label alone. When discussing a named organization, use its full name as presented by the campus or ASLA; the organization names and styles are not interchangeable.
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What do Divine Nine spaces look like?
There is no single prescribed design. ASLA’s coverage describes a range of forms: dedicated trees and benches, plaques, sculptures, monuments, plazas, gardens, and more extensively designed landscapes. Some make commemoration legible through an individual object or marker; others organize a larger outdoor setting around gathering and remembrance.
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For a construction and landscape audience, it is helpful to distinguish the visible element from the larger place. A plaque or sculpture may be the easiest feature to identify, but the setting around it—the garden, plaza, or designed landscape—is part of the commemoration too. The ASLA project descriptions do not provide construction drawings, dimensions, budgets, specifications, or maintenance plans. Those details should not be inferred from a brief project description.
When looking at a site, consider both its individual features and their relationship to one another. Is the marker set within a garden? Does the place read as a plaza or as a monument with a surrounding landscape? Are multiple organizations represented by separate elements or by a shared setting? These are useful descriptive questions, not claims that one arrangement is more authentic or effective than another. The examples establish a range of possibilities rather than a standard template.
Which campus projects illustrate the idea?
ASLA’s examples show how the same broad purpose—honoring BGLO history—can be expressed through different landscape types and commemorative elements. The sources do not rank these projects; the comparison below focuses on the details they report.
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| Project | Campus | What the sources say |
|---|---|---|
| Pan-Hellenic Garden | Wake Forest University | Built in 2010; contains nine brick and granite podiums, one for each NPHC organization. |
| Divine Nine Project | Georgia Institute of Technology | Identified by ASLA as an example; discussed by landscape architect Diane Jones Allen, FASLA, in the 2023 recap. |
| NPHC Legacy Plaza | Auburn University | Named by ASLA as an example of a campus commemorative space. |
| Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta centennial monuments | Howard University | Identified in ASLA’s recap; designed by Glenn LaRue Smith, FASLA. |
| Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated Monument | Howard University | Named in ASLA’s coverage as an example of a Divine Nine commemorative feature. |
The Wake Forest garden offers the clearest description of a physical arrangement in the sources: nine podiums made of brick and granite, with one assigned to each NPHC organization. The number and material are specific to that project; they should not be treated as a standard specification for other Divine Nine landscapes. ASLA’s March 7, 2023 recap is the source for the garden’s date, materials, and podium count.
At Howard, the centennial monuments link commemoration to two named organizations and to a designer, Glenn LaRue Smith, FASLA. At Georgia Tech, the project is associated with Diane Jones Allen, FASLA. These named connections show that the topic is not only about what gets built but also about the Black landscape architects and designers whose work interprets and memorializes this history. The source descriptions do not provide enough detail to attribute additional design features or construction methods to either project.
Auburn’s NPHC Legacy Plaza and Howard’s Zeta Phi Beta monument also illustrate a difference in scale and emphasis implied by their descriptions: a plaza is a named place, while a monument is a commemorative object or feature. That distinction can help readers compare projects without assuming that all sites have the same scope or serve identical purposes.
A useful comparison asks what each published description actually establishes: the physical form, organizations represented, campus setting, named designer, and stated date or materials. Wake Forest has reported material and construction-date details; the Georgia Tech and Howard examples connect to named landscape architects; Auburn is identified by its plaza name. The amount of detail available differs, so a fair comparison should not treat missing information as evidence that a project lacks a feature.
How should readers interpret these landscapes?
Start with the story the site is telling. Which organization or organizations are named? Is the commemoration organized around a gathering place, a garden, a monument, or a dedicated feature? What local campus history does the project make visible? These questions keep attention on the relationship between the landscape’s physical form and the history it honors, rather than treating the design as an interchangeable campus amenity.
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Then separate reported facts from interpretation. In the examples covered here, ASLA supplies selected facts such as the Wake Forest garden’s construction year and materials, the nine podiums, and named landscape architects connected with the Georgia Tech and Howard projects. It does not offer a complete inventory of every Divine Nine space, nor do the cited descriptions provide project costs, dimensions, construction sequences, accessibility information, or measured outcomes. A careful account should not fill those gaps with guesses.
For people considering a commemorative landscape project, the examples establish possible forms, not a ready-made design brief. They support the idea that a site might use a garden, plaza, monument, tree, bench, plaque, or sculpture, but they do not prescribe how a new project should be designed or built. Decisions about a real campus project would require project-specific information beyond these summaries, including the history and organizations being represented and the site’s own design requirements.
Likewise, the cited examples do not provide a basis for estimating costs or comparing budgets. Materials named for the Wake Forest podiums—brick and granite—are not enough to calculate a construction price, and no project-wide budget is reported. A campus planning team would need its own site, design, scope, and cost information; readers should not transfer the Wake Forest materials or nine-podium arrangement to another location as if they were a requirement.
Why does this history belong in a discussion of landscape design?
Landscape design shapes how people encounter places and what histories those places make visible. Divine Nine landscapes bring that point into focus: commemoration is expressed in outdoor settings, through designed features and the way a place is identified and used. The work therefore connects campus landscape with cultural history, recognition, and community memory.
ASLA’s March 7, 2023 recap quotes Henry Louis Gates Jr. from his documentary on BGLOs: “With education, community service, and philanthropy as their focal point, these organizations were able to foster academic and personal excellence on their own terms … They created the National Pan-Hellenic Council, totaling nine organizations with like-minded agendas. Each of those organizations continue to be pivotal in the continued advancement of Black people.” The ellipsis is present in ASLA’s excerpt; the passage is not presented here as uninterrupted speech.
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That context helps clarify why a landscape can matter beyond its materials or appearance. A commemorative place can acknowledge a community’s history on campus and give that history a visible setting. The examples show that there is no one visual formula for doing so: the work may take the form of nine podiums in a garden, a plaza, or monuments connected to particular organizations. These projects are best understood through their own stories and documented details, rather than as interchangeable instances of a single design.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every Divine Nine space have to include a monument?
No single required form is established in the ASLA descriptions. The examples range from gardens and plazas to dedicated trees, benches, plaques, sculptures, and monuments, so look at the specific site rather than assume one feature defines the category.
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Is the Divine Nine one organization?
No. The term refers collectively to nine separate BGLOs within the National Pan-Hellenic Council. A campus project may commemorate one organization or several; the project’s own description is the best guide to its scope.
Are Divine Nine spaces only found at historically Black colleges and universities?
The ASLA examples include Auburn, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Howard, so the cited material is not limited to one type of institution. These examples are not a complete national inventory, however, and the sources do not establish how many such spaces exist elsewhere.
What is known about the construction cost of the Wake Forest Pan-Hellenic Garden?
ASLA’s March 7, 2023 recap reports that the garden was built in 2010 and describes nine brick and granite podiums, but it does not give a project budget. Those details alone are not enough to derive a reliable cost estimate.
What materials are used in the Wake Forest Pan-Hellenic Garden?
ASLA’s 2023 recap identifies nine podiums made of brick and granite, one for each NPHC organization. It does not provide a complete materials list for the garden.
The Bottom Line
Divine Nine spaces are not defined by a single monument or design formula. They are campus landscapes that make BGLO history visible through forms ranging from trees and benches to gardens, plazas, and monuments. ASLA’s examples—from Wake Forest’s nine brick-and-granite podiums to projects at Georgia Tech, Auburn, and Howard—show why each site should be understood through its own organizations, setting, and documented history.
