African Meeting House
| African Meeting House | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| National Register of Historic Places | |||
| National Historic Landmark | |||
| Historic District Contributing Property | |||
 The building in 2008 |
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| location | Boston , Massachusetts , United States | ||
| Coordinates | 42 ° 21 '35.8 " N , 71 ° 3' 55.6" W | ||
| surface | 1,920 ft² (178.4 m² ) | ||
| Built | 1806 | ||
| Architectural style | Federal style | ||
| NRHP number | [1] 71000087 | ||
| Data | |||
| The NRHP added | 7th October 1971 | ||
| Declared as an NHL | May 30, 1974 | ||
| Declared as CP | October 15, 1966 | ||
The African Meeting House (also First African Baptist Church , First Independent Baptist Church and Belknap Street Church , now the Museum of African American History ) is a former church building and now a museum in the Boston borough of Beacon Hill in the state of Massachusetts in the United States . It has been the Contributing Property of the Beacon Hill Historic District since 1966 . On October 7, 1971, it was entered as a monument of independent relevance on the National Register of Historic Places . Since May 30, 1974, the African Meeting House has the status of a National Historic Landmark .
general description
Completely built by black workers in 1806, the 40 ft (12.2 m ) by 48 ft (14.6 m) building sits on the north flank of Boston's Beacon Hill. It was built in Federal Style for the African Baptist Church and with its red bricks laid in the Flemish Association still has the character of the 19th century. The front of the building facing the street has four elliptical arches, the two middle arches of which have entrance doors. A cornice made of bricks leads around the entire building below the overhang of the slate roof.
The building's large assembly hall extends over two floors. An elliptical double staircase leads from the basement to the foyer and on to the gallery . The original pews and a raised altar platform are still in the hall today. On the gallery, three rows of pews arranged in steps provide additional seating.
After a Jewish community acquired the building at the beginning of the 20th century, they made minor structural changes - including to the lighting - without significantly affecting the overall character of the building. In 1972 the Museum of Afro American History, Inc. bought the building and carried out repairs and restoration work. A fire damaged the roof and large parts of the interior in February 1973, so that the funds for the restoration had to be increased; the National Register of Historic Places supported the work with $ 12,500 (today about $ 72,000). The oldest surviving African American church building in the United States is now used as a museum, library, and archive.
Historical meaning
Before Pastor Thomas Paul and 20 others founded the First African Baptist Church on August 8, 1805, the first African American church congregation, the black residents of Boston took part in services in churches of the white population. The architecturally simple building was built exclusively by blacks. Thomas Paul was the first pastor of the parish until 1829.
Because the building was the only one owned by black people with adequate space due to its size, it quickly became a meeting place for community activities and religious ceremonies for this part of the Boston population. With the introduction of their own places of worship, the black residents, who were excluded from political life and sometimes also from educational offers, were given the first opportunity to develop their own management structures and organize further training. As a result, churches were a very important element in black life well into the 20th century. The African Meeting House at Beacon Hill is the oldest of its kind in the United States.
See also
- List of entries on the National Register of Historic Places in northern Boston
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Boston
literature
- Carol Ann Poh, Robert C. Post: National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form. ( PDF ) National Park Service , October 29, 1973, pp. 1–8 , accessed on March 23, 2016 (English, accessible via the "NR" button).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Entry in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed June 14, 2016
- ^ A b Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Massachusetts. National Park Service , accessed August 4, 2019.
- ↑ a b Entry in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ Patricia Heintzelman: Beacon Hill Historic District: Nomination Form . In: National Register of Historic Places database . National Park Service , October 9, 1975, accessed June 14, 2016 (English, PDF 600 kB).
- ↑ a b c cf. Poh / Post, p. 2.
- ↑ a b cf. Poh / Post, p. 3.