The stunning Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem was built in 1923 (in the popular at the time neo-Gothic style) to house the second-oldest African-American congregation in Manhattan. By 1930, the church grew to have 13,000 members, becoming the most prominent African-American church in New York City and the largest Baptist congregation in the world.
Like many other historic black churches, Abyssinian was founded in Lower Manhattan at the beginning of the 19th century. The First Baptist Church on Gold Street segregated its members by race, making its black members remain in a “slave loft.” In 1808, a group of black members protested, seceded from the mother church, and formed their own African Baptist Church. The church incorporated as Abyssinian – the ancient name for Ethiopia, the native country of several of its founding members.
Along with other black congregations, the Abyssinian changed its locations following the movements of the city’s black communities and eventually came to Harlem. Unlike other churches that purchased and re-purposed existing church buildings initially built for white congregations, the Abyssinian chose to construct a new building. By the 1920s, Harlem was quite built up, and the only available lots for new churches were in mid-block locations, which explains why the Abyssinian is located in the middle of the block instead of a more desirable corner spot.
The wedding of Nat King Cole and the funeral of “The Father of Blues”, W.C. Handy took place here. In the 1920s, Edward Martin Waller, was a minister at the church, and his son, Fats Waller, practiced and played the organ.
The church is still a center of the Harlem gospel tradition, offering gospel services every Sunday that attract hundreds of tourists.
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