Quinn Chapel AME Church, also known as Quinn Chapel of the A.M.E. Church, houses Chicago's first African-American congregation, formed by seven individuals as a nondenominational prayer 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 first independent black denomination in the United States. They named the church for Bishop William Paul Quinn. In the years leading up to the Civil War, the church played an important role in the city's abolitionist 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

Henry F. Starbuck Henry F. Starbuck (1860–1935) was an American architect and a specialist in church architecture. Biography Early life and ancestors Henry Fletcher Starbuck was born on March 1, 1850, in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and died on August 21, 1935, at D ...

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 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