This list of historic Black churches in Cleveland, Ohio, consists of buildings owned by congregations which are majority Black and which have architectural significance. The congregation may be historic, or the building, or historic events may have occurred there. [1] This list is incomplete; other structures could be identified in the future.
Name | Address | Congregation Founded | Image | Building Erected | Architect | Style | Historic Events |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Advent Evangelical Lutheran Church | 15309 Harvard Ave. | 1960 [2] | ![]() | 1965 [3] | William Whitley and James Whitley [1] [4] | Mid-century modern [1] | First predominantly Black Lutheran church in Cleveland; [5] Cleveland Historic Landmark |
Antioch Baptist Church | 8869 Cedar Ave. | 1893 [6] | ![]() | 1893—1894 [7] [a] | William Warren Sabin [10] | Romanesque Revival [10] | Building designated a Cleveland Historic Landmark, 1975; [11] history of political and economic activism, including founding one of the earliest Black-owned credit unions in 1947; [12] establishment of the Antioch Development Corporation in 1999, [13] the first Christian church in the United States to open an HIV/AIDS testing center, 1999; [14] establishment of the Genesis Program in 2001 to provide skills training and employment services for the poor [14] |
Cory United Methodist Church | 1117 E. 105th St. | 1875 [15] | ![]() | 1921—1922 [16] [b] | Albert S. Janowitz [22] | Neoclassical [23] | Key meeting place in Cleveland during the civil rights movement; [24] Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke there in May 1963; [25] Malcolm X first gave his "The Ballot or the Bullet" speech there on April 3, 1964; [26] first marker erected on the Cleveland Civil Rights Trail; [24] Cleveland Historic Landmark [27] |
East Mount Zion Baptist Church | 9990 Euclid Ave. | 1908 [28] | ![]() | 1906—1908 [29] [c] | George W. Kramer and C.C. Hamilton [31] | Romanesque Revival [32] | The first Black church on Euclid Avenue, once an all-white enclave known as Millionaires' Row; [33] [34] major player in the civil rights movement in Cleveland [34] and a force for ending racial discrimination in education, employment, and housing; [35] oldest food bank in Cleveland; [35] featured in the 2022 documentary film 100th & Cedar; [35] Cleveland Historic Landmark [36] |
Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church | 1754 E. 55th St. | 1964 [37] | ![]() | 1907—1908 [38] [d] | Bohnard & Parsson [41] | English Gothic Revival [41] | Structure added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2025; [42] Cleveland Historic Landmark [43] |
Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church | 1161 E. 105th St. | 1946 [44] | ![]() | 1919 [45] [e] | Allen Sogg [45] | Byzantine Revival [45] | Pastor E.T. Caviness (1961-present) is a civil rights leader, honored by the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame; church was a hub for civil rights activism; church was the headquarters of the United Freedom Movement; congregation was a significant factor in helping Carl Stokes become the first Black mayor of Cleveland in 1967; site recognized on the Cleveland Civil Rights Trail; [49] Cleveland Historic Landmark; [50] hosted Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. the week after he won the Nobel Peace Prize [51] |
Greater Friendship Baptist Church | 12305 Arlington Ave. | 1955 [52] | ![]() | 1926 [53] [f] | Corbusier, Lenski & Foster [53] | Gothic Revival [55] | One of four Black churches in Cleveland visited by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on May 14, 1963, after his release from Birmingham Jail; [56] Rev. C.T. Nelson recorded "Great Consolation"/"A Prayer" there in 1966, a reproduction of Sunday worship service that was one of the few worship service hits on gospel radio in the 1960s; [57] Cleveland Historic Landmark [58] |
Lane Metropolitan Christian Methodist Episcopal Church | 2131 E. 46th St. | 1902 [59] | ![]() | 1899—1901 [60] [g] | George F. Hammond [60] | Neoclassical [1] | Founded by the influential CME bishop, Isaac Lane; [62] by 1940, was one of the two largest CME congregations in the United States; [62] pastored by Joseph C. Coles Jr. from 1952 to 1963, during which time Coles gained national prominence; [63] pastored by Rev. Anzo Montgomery, a civil rights leader, from 1965 to 1978; [64] Cleveland Historic Landmark [65] |
Liberty Hill Baptist Church | 8206 Euclid Ave. | 1918 [66] | ![]() | 1911—1912 [67] [h] | Lehman & Schmitt [69] | mixed Moorish Revival and Romanesque Revival [70] | Structure has eight stained glass windows designed and created by Tiffany Studios, [1] a mosaic designed and created by Tiffany Studios, [1] and a dome whose interior is clad in sky-blue Ludowici tile; [71] concert by Mahalia Jackson in October 1961 to raised funds for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.; [72] hosted the Citizens' Committee for Review, which examined the causes of the 1966 Hough riots; [71] Cleveland Historic Landmark [73] |
Mt. Zion Congregational Church | 10723 Magnolia Dr. | 1864 [74] [75] | ![]() | 1955—1956 [76] [i] | Carr & Cunningham [79] | Contemporary [80] | Founded as a church for Black elites in Cleveland; [81] [82] by 1916, one of only three Black churches in Ohio to belong to a predominantly white denomination; [83] pastored by Russell S. Brown from 1925 to 1933, the second African American to serve on the Cleveland City Council (elected 1929); [84] bombed twice by segregationists in 1954; [78] designated by the Cleveland City Council as a contributing building to the Magnolia-Wade Park Historic District [85] |
New Life at Calvary Presbyterian Church | 2020 E. 79th St. | 1880 [86] | ![]() | 1888—1890 [87] | Charles F. Schweinfurth [88] | Victorian Romanesque Revival [88] | The then-predominantly white congregation formally took a stand against racial segregation in 1953; [89] became one of the first racially integrated congregations in Cleveland [90] by reaching out to local Black residents; [89] partnered with the Hough Area Council to foster improved race relations and stability in the Hough neighborhood at a time of extreme demographic change; [91] known for its youth programs in 1950s and 1960s; [89] [90] key Cleveland area advocate for racial tolerance and social justice in the 1950s and 1960s; [89] in the 21st century, still the largest predominantly African American church in Ohio; [89] Cleveland Historic Landmark [92] |
Olivet Institutional Baptist Church | 8712 Quincy Ave. | 1931 [93] | ![]() | 1950—1954 [94] [95] | Not known [96] | Modern [96] | Physically, the largest Black church in Ohio built by its own congregation at the time; [95] while pastored by Rev. Odie Hoover (1952 to 1973), the congregation challenged racism early, when the civil rights movement did not have widespread support; [93] building served as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s informal headquarters when he was in Cleveland; [97] Olivet welcomed Dr. King at a time when most churches would not do so; [93] established the Christian Community Center as a place for music and the arts, community organizing, and civil rights activism; [98] church played a key role in voter registration and mobilization int the election of Carl Stokes as Cleveland's first Black mayor; [97] a major supporter of Operation Breadbasket, which boosted Black-owned businesses; [97] Rev. Otis Moss Jr. (1974 to 2008), an important early figure in the civil rights movement, [99] served as chair of the board of People United to Save Humanity (PUSH); [98] congregation led the way in building the electoral coalition that elected Michael White mayor of Cleveland in 1990; [100] congregation partnered with University Hospitals to build the Otis Moss Jr.—University Hospitals Health Center in 1997; [101] site recognized on the Cleveland Civil Rights Trail [97] |
St. Adalbert Catholic Church | 2347 East 83rd St. | 1922 [102] [j] | ![]() | 1911—1912 [106] [107] [k] | William P. Ginther [107] [108] | Baroque Revival [108] [109] | Oldest predominantly Black Catholic parish in the state of Ohio, and the second oldest in the United States; [110] Cleveland Historic Landmark [111] |
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church | 2171 E. 49th St. | 1892 [112] | ![]() | 1915—1916 [113] | Charles Schneider [112] | Gothic Revival [112] | Founded as a church for Black elites in Cleveland; [81] [82] co-founded by John Patterson Green, first Black person elected to city office in Cleveland and to the Ohio Senate, and founder of Labor Day in Ohio; [114] co-founded by wealthy Cleveland seafood wholesaler Jacob E. Reed; [115] co-founded by Richard A. Jones, editor of the Negro Globe newspaper; [116] Cleveland Historic Landmark [117] |
St. James African Methodist Episcopal | 8401 Cedar Ave. | 1889 [118] | ![]() | 1895—1896 [119] [120] [l] | Knox & Elliott [119] [126] | Richardsonian Romanesque [126] | During the pastorate of Rev. D. Ormonde B. Walker (1926 to 1937), founded the nationally acclaimed St. James Literary Forum in 1927; [127] Rev. Donald G. Jacobs (1955 to 1968) made the church a center of civil rights activism; [127] Rev. Jacobs co-chaired the Emergency Committee of Clergy for Civil Rights, [127] created in April 1964; [128] became only the third Black clergyperson in the U.S. to lead a major metropolitan area council of Christian churches [129] Cleveland Historic Landmark [130] |
St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church | 2261 E. 40th St. | 1836 [131] | ![]() | 1908 [132] [133] | Badgley & Nicklas [131] [132] | English Gothic [132] | The first African American congregation in Cleveland; [134] established by six fugitive slaves; [134] a long history of civil rights activism; [131] "Station Hope" on the Underground Railroad; [135] under pastorate of Rev. Reverdy C. Ransom (1893 to 1896), implemented an extensive program of social outreach, including education classes, kindergarten, sports, and health; [136] hosted Booker T. Washington in 1897; [137] hosted W. E. B. Du Bois in 1908; [138] 1908 building was the then-largest ever built by Blacks in the city of Cleveland; [139] hosted singer Marian Anderson in her first Cleveland concert in 1925; [140] one of only two Black congregations to support the Congress of Racial Equality when it began work in Cleveland in 1946; [141] Cleveland Historic Landmark; [142] building on the National Register of Historic Places, 1982 [143] |
St. Philip's Christian Church | 2303 E. 30th St. | 1953 [144] | ![]() | 1967—1968 [145] [146] | Frederick S. Toguchi [145] | Brutalist [147] | Cleveland Historic Landmark [148] |
Shiloh Baptist Church | 5500 Scovill Ave. | 1850 [149] | ![]() | 1905—1906 [150] [151] [152] [m] | Harry A. Cone [151] | Neoclassical [150] [155] | The first African American Baptist congregation in Cleveland; [156] congregation was active in the civil rights movement; [156] hosted Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in September 1967; [157] Cleveland Historic Landmark; [158] building listed on the National Register of Historic Places [159] |