History and architecture
The Abyssinian Baptist Church, built in 1922-23, is the home of one of New York City's oldest church organizations and the second oldest within the family of African-American churches, in Manhattan.
Organized in 1808 by a small group of black worshippers who withdrew from the predominantly white First Baptist Church on Gold Street,, the Abyssnian Baptist Church was incorporated in the following year adopting the ancient name for Ethiopia.
The northward movement of the Abyssinian congregation, which occupied several successive locations from its first home in a wooden church on Worth Street to its imposing stone edifice in Harlem, followed the residential patterns of New York's black population. Under the leadership of the Reverend William Spellman during the second half of the nineteenth century the church grew rapidly into of the wealthiest of the "African'' congregations.
In the twentieth century, the Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Sr.'s "social gospel", blending social activism with spiritual leadership, set the tone for Abyssinian's ongoing mission to serve its community. Commissioned during Powell's tenure, the striking church building and the adjoining community house were the work of Charles W. Bolton & Son, a productive Philadelphia firm which specialized in churches.
The neo-Gothic design of the church reflects the tradition of Protestant church architecture of the 1920s. Powell's son and successor, Adam Clayton Powell Jr, - who served eleven terms as a U.S. Congressman -put Abyssinian at the forefront of the national crusade for social reform and civil rights. During his pastorate, the church membership grew to over 10,000, placing it among the largest Protestant churches in the world. Today, the church leadership under the Reverend Calvin Butts continues its commitment religious and social service and economic development in Harlem.
Abyssinian Baptist Church is a symmetrically-planned building faced with rock-faced blocks of Manhattan schist laid in random ashlar and trimmed with white terra cotta. The church occupies approximately three-quarters of its 150-foot wide lot; the asymmetrical community house adjoins the main church building to the east. The church is massed with a central gabled section flanked by square towers; a somewhat lower tower marks the east end of the community house.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.