Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church
- Year
- 1890
- Style
- Romanesque Revival
- City
- Philadelphia, PA
Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church traces to a 1792 walkout: African-American members of St. George's Methodist Church left over segregated worship, and the Free African Society's Absalom Jones and Richard Allen founded a new congregation in response, with Allen arranging the purchase and construction of its site. The present Romanesque church, completed in 1890 at 419 South 6th Street, is the oldest church property in the United States continuously owned by African Americans, and the congregation itself is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal congregation in the nation.
the building
Founded by Allen and Jones. Richard Allen arranged the purchase and construction of the church's site, while Absalom Jones raised funds from both Black and white Philadelphians, including then-President George Washington, to establish the congregation.
the style
Romanesque Revival (c. 1840–1900): Round arches revived in heavy rough-cut stone: squat columns, cave-like entrances, and deep-set windows.
More on Romanesque Revivalsignificance
Mother Bethel was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972. Its present building, completed in 1890, is the oldest church property in the country continuously owned by African Americans, and the congregation founded in 1794 is the oldest A.M.E. congregation in the nation.
nearby
- Congregation B'nai Abraham
- Pennsylvania Hospital
- Hill-Physick-Keith House
- Athenaeum of Philadelphia
- St. Peter's Episcopal Church
- J. Peter Lesley House