Quinn Chapel AME Church, also known as Quinn Chapel of the A.M.E. Church, houses

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's first African-American congregation, formed by seven individuals as a

nondenominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

group that met in the house of a member in 1844. In 1847, the group organized as a congregation of the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...

, the first independent black denomination in the United States. They named the church for Bishop

William Paul Quinn William Paul Quinn (10 April 1788–21 February 1873) was born in India and immigrated to the United States, where he became the fourth bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first independent black denomination in the United State ...

. In the years leading up to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the church played an important role in the city's

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

movement. The

1871 Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

destroyed the original church. The congregation met for many years in temporary locations before purchasing the present site in 1890. The current structure, designed by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Henry F. Starbuck and built in 1892 at 2401 South Wabash Avenue, reflects the area's late 19th-century character. The church was designated as a

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, archite ...

August 3, 1977, and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

September 4, 1979. Considered architecturally significant, the church is featured in such books as ''Chicago Churches: A Photographic Essay'' by Elizabeth Johnson (Uppercase Books Inc, 1999) as well as ''Chicago Churches and Synagogues: An Architectural Pilgrimage,'' by George A. Lane (Loyola Press 1982). In 1992, Quinn Chapel joined with three other nearby churches to foun
The Renaissance Collaborative
a non-profit organization devoted to saving the historic Wabash YMCA and fulfilling the needs of the Bronzeville community.

References

External links

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Library of Congress Historic American Buildings
19th-century Methodist church buildings in the United States African Methodist Episcopal churches in Illinois Churches in Chicago Chicago Landmarks Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Churches completed in 1892 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois {{Chicago-struct-stub