Little Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

Little Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
Location 44 Lake Ave, Greenwich, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°1′58″N 73°37′51″W / 41.03278°N 73.63083°W / 41.03278; -73.63083Coordinates: 41°1′58″N 73°37′51″W / 41.03278°N 73.63083°W / 41.03278; -73.63083
Area 0.2 acres (0.081 ha)
Built 1921 (1921)
Architect Meilinggaard, A.N.
Architectural style Late Gothic Revival
NRHP reference # 10000831[1]
Added to NRHP October 12, 2010

The Little Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, now the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, is a historic church building and congregation at 44 Lake Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut. Founded in 1882, the congregation was Greenwich's first African-American congregation of any denomination, and remains a center of African-American society in the town. Its current church, built in 1921 on the site of its first church, is a good example of Late Gothic Revival architecture, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.[1]

Architecture and history

The Bethel AME Church is located north of downtown Greenwich, on the south side of Lake Street opposite the Greenwich Hospital campus. It is a single-story structure, with a gabled roof and stucco exterior. A square tower projects from the front left corner, capped by a pyramidal roof with flared eaves. The main entrance is in the base of the tower, sheltered by a gabled portico. Windows on the tower and building facade are lancet-arched in the Gothic style.

The church congregation was founded in 1882, forming what was then the first major focal point for African-American society in the town. The church eventually outgrew its first edifice, built on this site in 1883, and the present church was built in 1921.[2] The congregation continues to be affiliated with the larger African Methodist Episcopal Church.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2013-11-02). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Bethel AME Church honors its past, has faith in its future". Greenwich Times. February 15, 2011. Retrieved 2018-10-05.


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