Saint Paul African Union Methodist Church is an historic structure located in the Navy Yard section of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is the only congregation in the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

of the oldest incorporated, independent African- American denomination in the country. It 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 ...

in 2011.

History

The African Union Methodist Protestant Church congregation that became Saint Paul's began as a prayer group in 1900. The church was designed by R.C. Archer, Jr., the second licensed African American architect in Washington. It was his first church commission in the city. The

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style building was completed in 1924. Saint Paul's is the only church that survives from a predominantly working-class

African-American neighborhood African-American neighborhoods or black neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. Generally, an African American neighborhood is one where the majority of the people who live there are African American. ...

in the Navy Yard area. It is also one of the area's last surviving buildings from the first part of the 20th century. In the 1940s, 700 units of public housing were built in the area. In the early 21st century, mixed-income townhomes have replaced the rest of the historic structures surrounding the church.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Christian organizations established in 1900 Churches completed in 1924 Churches in Washington, D.C. Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Gothic Revival church buildings in Washington, D.C. African-American history of Washington, D.C. 1900 establishments in Washington, D.C. 20th-century Methodist church buildings in the United States Methodist churches in Washington, D.C. A.U.M.P. Church