First Baptist Church (Roanoke, Virginia)

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First Baptist Church
Location407 N. Jefferson St., NW, Roanoke, Virginia
Arealess than one acre
Built1898 (1898)-1900
ArchitectHuggins, Henry Hartwell
Architectural styleRomanesque, Gothic
NRHP reference No.90001840[1]
VLR No.128-0037
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 6, 1990
Designated VLRAugust 21, 1990[2]
Removed from NRHPMarch 19, 2001
Delisted VLRMarch 19, 1997

First Baptist Church was a historic African-American Baptist church located in the Gainsboro neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1898–1900, and was a large six-bay nave-plan brick church with Romanesque and Gothic detailing. It featured a clipped gable roof and a front bell tower. A one-story Parish Hall was built in 1936. First Baptist Church occupied the building until moving to a new sanctuary in 1982. The church was destroyed by fire in April 1995.[3]

The controversial Reverend Richard R. Jones was the first minister of the church, and guided it through the early stages of planning and construction between 1882 and 1904.[4]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 and delisted in 2001.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  3. ^ John R. Kern and Daniel Pezzoni (August 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: First Baptist Church" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo
  4. ^ Kern, John. 2015. "Rev. Richard Jones, Activist, Orator, Founder of Black First Baptist Church, 1882-1904." Historical Society of Western Virginia. Journal. Volume XXII (1), 2015. Page 54.

External links[edit]