Union Baptist Church
| Union Baptist Church | |
|---|---|
| |
| Site Information | |
| Address | 1219 Druid Hill Ave |
| Geo-reference | 39°18′05″N 76°37′40″W / 39.30148°N 76.62773°W |
| Building Data | |
| Building Type | Church |
| Design | |
| Architect | William J. Beardsley |
| Construction | |
| Completed | 1905 |
| Renovation | |
| Date | 1974 |
| Architect | Leon Bridges |
The Union Baptist Church is the fifth oldest African-American congregation established in Baltimore. Their building on Druid Hill Avenue was designed by New York architect William J. Beardsley, who was known for his residential, ecclesiastical, and institutional work. He designed several buildings in Baltimore after establishing an office in the city in the wake of the Great Fire of 1904. The Union Baptist Church cost $35,000 and was finished in 1905. The church is extant today and can be recognized by its soaring street façade of gray granite, trimmed with Indian limestone. The style is distinctly Gothic Revival with steep gables, lancet windows, and buttresses. The church, however, is unique in that it lacks any sort of tower, belfry, steeple, turrets, or transept as a major design element. It was renovated by the Leon Bridges Company in 1974. This included installation of new seating, a public address system, relocation of the baptistry from the sanctuary on the second floor to the lower level, a television, a new custom-made pipe organ from the Teuter Company of Kansas that cost $70,000, air conditioning, new carpet, installation of a new exhaust system in the kitchen, and an elevator to make the church more accessible.
These images were taken by Evelyn Chatmon, Maryland SHPO.
