United States historic place

First Baptist Church

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Contributing Property

Beale Street Baptist Church

Beale Street Baptist Church

Location in Tennessee

Show map of Tennessee

Beale Street Baptist Church

Location in United States

Show map of the United States

Location| 379 Beale Ave., Memphis, Tennessee
Coordinates| 35°08′19″N 90°02′54″W / 35.13861°N 90.04833°W / 35.13861; -90.04833 (First Baptist Church)Coordinates: 35°08′19″N 90°02′54″W / 35.13861°N 90.04833°W / 35.13861; -90.04833 (First Baptist Church)
Area| 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built| 1869 (1869)
Part of| Beale Street Historic District (ID92001581)
NRHP reference No.| 71000833[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP| February 11, 1971
Designated NHLDCP| July 29, 1993

Beale Street Baptist Church, also known as, First Baptist Church or Beale Avenue Baptist Church, is a historic church on Beale Street, built by a congregation of freed slaves in Memphis, Tennessee. It was designed by the prominent Memphis architectural firm Jones & Baldwin, a partnership between Edward Culliatt Jones and Matthias Baldwin. Its foundation stone was laid in 1869, and it was constructed between 1871 and 1885.[2][3] In the late 1880s, the church also housed the newspaper office of Ida B. Wells, the famous civil rights journalist. Over the years, Ulysses S. Grant and Teddy Roosevelt made visits to the church.[4]

The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971,[4] and was included in an enlargement of the National Historic Landmark District of Beale Street in 1993. Adjacent to the church, a plaza dedicated to Ida B. Wells was established in 2021.[5]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. ^ Guide to Historic Downtown Memphis By William Patton
3. ^ Lovett, Bobby L. "Beale Street". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
4. ^ a b "First Baptist Church (Beale Street Baptist Church) - Memphis Heritage". Memphis Heritage. April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
5. ^ "Statue honoring Ida B. Wells to be unveiled Friday on Beale Street in Memphis". WREG. July 15, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2022.

## External links[edit]

Media related to Beale Street Baptist Church at Wikimedia Commons

* "First Baptist Church, 379 East Beale Street, Memphis, Shelby County, TN (HABS - Historic Photos)". The Library of Congress. Retrieved April 24, 2018.

This article about a church or other Christian place of worship in Tennessee is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

This Shelby County, Tennessee geography–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[No.]: number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template