Bethel AME Church (Davenport, Iowa)

Last updated
Bethel A.M.E. Church
Bethel AME Church - Davenport, Iowa.JPG
Bethel Church in 2015
USA Iowa location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location323 W. 11th Street
Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates 41°31′51″N90°34′41″W / 41.53083°N 90.57806°W / 41.53083; -90.57806 Coordinates: 41°31′51″N90°34′41″W / 41.53083°N 90.57806°W / 41.53083; -90.57806
Arealess than one acre
Built1909
Architect Clausen & Clausen
Architectural style Bungalow/Craftsman
MPS Davenport MRA
NRHP reference No. 83002401 [1]
Added to NRHPJuly 7, 1983

Bethel A.M.E. Church is located in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. [1]

Contents

History

Rear view of the building. Bethel AME Church (Davenport, Iowa).jpg
Rear view of the building.

The African Methodist Episcopal Church congregation was founded in Davenport in November 1865 and it was incorporated on January 1, 1866. [2] Their first location was at the corner of Fourth and Gaines Street. [3] Not only was it the first of several small churches that were founded by the Black community in Davenport after the conclusion of the American Civil War, it was the first in the State of Iowa. [2] The black community itself was relatively small and scattered in Davenport until the 1920s. [4] [5] The trustees were Emanuel Franklin, P.C. Cooper, Hy Simon and William Van Duzer. [6]

The property at the corner of Eleventh and Ripley Streets was purchased in 1875 for $1,800. [2] In 1909 the congregation finished the current church building in the heart of the city's African-American Community, which at the time had grown to 50 congregants. [7] Before its completion, services were held in the building's basement. At the time it was constructed the congregation changed its name to Bethel A.M.E. Church. William W. Williams was the pastor during this period. [8]

Architecture

The Davenport architectural firm of Clausen & Clausen designed the building using two styles that are typically found in home construction: Bungalow and American Craftsman styles. The choice seems appropriate for a denomination that emphasizes simplicity and avoidance of ceremony and symbolism. [8] The building also features round-arch, stained glass windows that recall the Romanesque Revival style, and more typical of ecclesiastical architecture, rather than rectilinear windows. The interior features barrel vaulting over the nave and a domed apse in the back of the sanctuary. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvest Time Family Worship Center</span> United States historic place

The Harvest Time Family Worship Center, is a historic building that houses a Pentecostal congregation located in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as the First Church of Christ, Scientist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Davenport, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

St. Joseph Catholic Church is a former Catholic parish in the Diocese of Davenport. Its former parish church is located in the west end of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The church and the rectory were listed together on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1999. After serving as the location of a Reformed Baptist congregation and a private elementary school named Marquette Academy, the parish property now houses a fundamentalist Christian ministry named One Eighty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kahl Building</span> United States historic place

The Kahl Building is an historic building located in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District. The building also includes the Capitol Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's United Methodist Church (Davenport, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

St. John's United Methodist Church is located in central Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Baptist Church (Davenport, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

First Baptist Church is located in central Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as Calvary Baptist Church/First Baptist Church. It is affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Baptist Church (Davenport, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

The former Swedish Baptist Church is a historic building located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The congregation was organized in 1883 in the city's Swedish neighborhood and included about 50 people. The building was originally a Presbyterian Church and was moved here from its original location at Eleventh and Scott Streets. In the 1920s it became Second Baptist Church and by the 1930s it was renamed Grand Avenue Baptist Church. The building subsequently housed other denominations, including the Mennonites, and now houses Kingdom Generation Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LeClaire Park Bandshell</span> United States historic place

The LeClaire Park Bandshell, also known as the W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion, is located on Beiderbecke Drive in LeClaire Park, Davenport, Iowa. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Bible Missionary Church</span> United States historic place

The former First Bible Missionary Church, located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States, is an historic structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was built as a Congregational Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierce School No. 13</span> United States historic place

Pierce School No. 13 is a historic building located on the east side of Davenport, Iowa, United States. Pierce School Lofts, as the building is now called, contains 41 market-rate apartments. It was included as a contributing property in the Village of East Davenport Historic District in 1980. The building was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buchanan School</span> United States historic place

Buchanan School, also known as The Naval Station, is a historic building located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Since 2019 the building has housed a senior living apartment building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor School (Davenport, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

Taylor School is a historic building located in Davenport, Iowa, United States. The former grade school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 and on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cork Hill District</span> United States historic place

The Cork Hill District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The historic district covers 18.7-acre (7.6 ha) and stretches from the campus of Palmer College of Chiropractic on the west to the Sacred Heart Cathedral Complex on the east. It is the western half of a neighborhood of the same name. When listed, the district included 12 contributing buildings. It includes Greek Revival, Italianate, and Victorian architecture. The district was covered in a 1982 study of Davenport Multiple Resource Area and/or its 1983 follow-on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimball–Stevenson House</span> Historic house in Iowa, United States

The Kimball–Stevenson House is a historic building located just north of downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1873 and it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. P. Adler House</span> Historic house in Iowa, United States

The E.P. Adler House is a historic building located in the central part of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It has been individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. In 1984 it was included as a contributing property in the Vander Veer Park Historic District. It has been on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties since 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul Lutheran Church (Davenport, Iowa)</span> Church in Iowa, United States

St. Paul Lutheran Church is located in central, Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The church's original property, which subsequently housed other Protestant congregations, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, but has since been torn down. The present complex was built in 1952 and contains two buildings that are contributing properties in the Vander Veer Park Historic District. The present church building was completed in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argyle Flats</span> United States historic place

Argyle Flats is a historic building located on a busy thoroughfare in Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Schricker House</span> Historic house in Iowa, United States

The John Schricker House is a historic building located in the far West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The house has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Downtown Davenport, Iowa</span>

This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. Downtown Davenport is defined as being all of the city south of 5th Street from Marquette Street east to the intersection of River Drive and East 4th Street. The locations of National Register properties and districts may be seen in an online map.

Frederick George "Fritz" Clausen (1848–1940) was a Danish-born architect who came to the United States in 1869 and founded an architectural practice in Davenport, Iowa. The firm that he founded, presently named Studio 483 Architects, is still in business today, the oldest firm in continuous practice in the state of Iowa. Clausen has been termed the "premier 19th century architect" of Davenport, Iowa.

Gustav A. Hanssen was an American architect. He designed private residences in Davenport, Iowa and later moved to San Diego, California. Several of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Deirdre Cox Baker (April 8, 2016). "Bethel AME celebrates 150th year". Quad-City Times . Davenport . Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  3. ↑ "Chapter 20: Churches and Parishes". Scott County Iowa USGenWeb Project. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  4. ↑ Martha H. Bowers (January 1982). "NRHP Multiple Resource Assessment: Historical and Architectural Resources of Davenport". National Park Service.(pages 1-30 of PDF document)
  5. ↑ Martha H. Bowers (July 1983). "NRHP Multiple Resource Assessment: Historical and Architectural Resources of Davenport, Iowa (Part II)". National Park Service.Northwest and north-central Davenport, the Fulton Addition, and McClellan Heights (pages 30-69 of PDF document)
  6. ↑ Svendsen, Marlys A.; Bowers, Martha H. (1982). Davenport where the Mississippi runs west: A Survey of Davenport History & Architecture. Davenport, Iowa: City of Davenport. p. 11.1.
  7. ↑ Svendsen. 11-3.
  8. 1 2 Martha Bowers; Marlys Svendsen-Roesler. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Bethel AME Church". National Park Service . Retrieved 2014-11-01.
  9. ↑ Gaul, Alma (May 13, 2013). "Churches claim unique histories, ministries". Quad-City Times . Davenport . Retrieved 2018-10-05.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Bethel AME Church (Davenport Iowa) at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.