Abyssinian Baptist Church
The most popular religious denomination in Harlem is the Baptist, and Harlem has the world's largest church of that denomination, Negro or white- the ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHURCH, 132 West 138th Street. Founded in 1808, it is the largest, oldest, and most influential Negro church in New York. It has a membership of more than 13,000, and more than thirty auxiliaries of the church are actively engaged in religious and community services, including a forum where Negro and white men and women of national prominence speak. Its pastor is the Reverend A. Clayton Powell, Jr. outstanding civic leader. The building, erected in 1923 at a cost of 334,000 is an imposing structure of New York blue stone. Of combined Gothic and Tudor styles, it was designed by a Negro architect, Charles W. Bolton, and has served as a model for other churches in New York and elsewhere. In contrast with such imposing edifices as the Abyssinian Baptist Church. are the numerous 'storefront" churches in almost every street. these are stores which have been converted into churches by installing rows of benches and a pulpit. They are usually bare of decoration, except for window curtains.
(New York City Guide, pp263-264)
Images