Union Baptist Church (New Rochelle, New York)
Union Baptist Church | |
| Location | 438 Main Street, New Rochelle, New York |
|---|---|
| Built | 1904 |
| Architect | Arthur Bates Jennings |
| Architectural style | Neo-Romanesque |
Union Baptist Church is a historic house of worship located in Downtown New Rochelle, in Westchester County, New York. The church was added to Westchester Inventory of Historic Places in 1994, chosen for its cultural and historical characteristics as well as for its Neo-Romanesque edifice and unique architectural details. [1]
History
Two different congregations compose the cultural heritage of the church. It was originally built by the predominately white "Salem Baptist" congregation which is no longer in existence today. The current congregation, "Union Baptist", is one of the New Rochelle's earliest black religious organizations.[2]
Organized as the "First Baptist Church of New Rochelle" in 1849, the Salem congregation first met in a small wooden house where they adopted the name Salem, a derivative of the Hebrew word 'shalom' meaning peace. The congregation grew over the following decades and in 1904 the present day building was officially dedicated. The church was designed by architect Arthur Bates Jennings who configured the building's interior using the Akron Plan, an open spatial arrangement that is seen in only a few Westchester churches today. His use of ceiling stenciling was also unique and this church is the only one in the county to possess such detailing. [3]
The Salem Baptist congregation was instrumental in helping black residents of New Rochelle establish Bethesda Baptist Church in 1888, and Union Baptist soon after. The membership of Salem Baptist peaked in the 1930s with over 600 members, however by the 1970s its numbers had dwindled tremendously. A church committee concluded that "over churched" community of New Rochelle could no longer support their congregation and recommended that the Salem congregation dissolve, and the church be sold. In 1972 the building was sold to the current Union Baptist congregation.
In February of 2011 a 5-alarm fire ripped through the historic building, destroying much of the interior structure.[4]
References