Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church Building
- Architect
- Dankmar Adler
- Year
- 1898
- Style
- Neoclassical
- City
- Chicago, IL
Built in 1898 as a synagogue for the Isaiah Temple congregation, this Neoclassical building at 4501 S. Vincennes Avenue was designed by Dankmar Adler, Louis Sullivan's longtime partner and the son of a rabbi who designed several Chicago synagogues. As the neighborhood's demographics shifted in the early 20th century, Isaiah Temple sold the building in 1921 to the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, whose congregation would make it a birthplace of gospel music.
the building
Birthplace of gospel. In 1931 the church formed its first gospel choir, led by Thomas A. Dorsey, Theodore Frye, and Roberta Martin, figures credited with popularizing gospel music in Chicago's Black churches. The choir helped launch the careers of Mahalia Jackson, Sallie Martin, and Dinah Washington, and rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley once performed in the church's orchestra.
the style
Adler designed the building in a Neoclassical style suited to its original purpose as a synagogue, one of several he built for Chicago's Jewish congregations.
More on Neoclassicalthe architect
Dankmar Adler was the architectural partner of Louis Sullivan, with whom he designed many of Chicago's early skyscrapers; the son of a rabbi, he also designed several other synagogues in the city.
significance
The church was designated a Chicago Landmark on July 28, 2011, and added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 24, 2016.
nearby
- Robert S. Abbott House
- Oscar Stanton De Priest House
- Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church Complex
- Belmonte Flats
- Daniel Hale Williams House
- Sutherland Hotel