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Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont » Charlottesville Metropolitan Area » Downtown Area » West Main Street from Ridge Street to 7th Street and Surrounding Area » First Baptist Church

First Baptist Church

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Delevan and First Colored Baptist Church
1877–c. 1883, attributed to George A. Sinclair. 632 W. Main St. (southeast corner of 7th St.)
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)

First Baptist traces its lineage back to an 1863 petition by members of the African American community to separate from the white-run First Baptist Church. The petition was granted, and by 1877 they had a building underway at this site. Sinclair apparently built the structure, but his role in the design is controversial. His ethnicity is unknown, but he is associated with all three African American Baptist churches in this area. The appearance of First Baptist is so similar to Mount Zion Baptist Church as to suggest the same hand. Also a large Italianate brick structure with a prominent entrance tower, First Baptist has a different cupola and finial-capped pier buttresses at the front. The interior is divided into two aisles rather than three, but it has a similar gallery arrangement. The colored glass windows appear to be from the same supplier as those of Mount Zion.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Richard Guy Wilson et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Ebenezer Baptist Church
Charlottesville Public School Building
Mount Zion Baptist Church
200 Block of West Main Street
McGuffey Art Center (McGuffey School)

Citation

Richard Guy Wilson et al., "First Baptist Church", [Charlottesville, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-01-CH23.

Print Source

Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont, Richard Guy Wilson and contributors. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, 149-150.

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