32nd Street Baptist Church

32nd Street Baptist Church photographed July 21, 2005

The 32nd Street Baptist Church is a former church building, located at 518 32nd Street South in the Lakeview district which stands vacant with a damaged roof after a curtailed renovation effort.

The church served a predominantly-black congregation organized in the early part of the 20th century as the Rising Star Baptist Church until the congregation relocated to a frame building on 32nd Street in 1910. A new building, erected in 1924, was designed by African American architect Wallace Rayfield.

During the Civil rights movement, the church served as a meeting place for the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. It has been made a stop on the Freedom Trail and has been under consideration for National Historic Landmark status. It was measured and photographed in 1996 by Richard K. Anderson and Jet Lowe for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

The congregation moved again in 1995 to 3012 Dowell Avenue Southwest in the Powderly neighborhood of Southwest Birmingham. The 1,000-seat building was closed and put up for sale in 2009 after the church failed to keep up with its mortgage payments. In 2011 the Jones Valley Neighborhood Association urged the Birmingham Board of Education to acquire and demolish the vacant church and adjacent parsonage.

Redevelopment of 1924 building

The 1924 building was purchased in 2004 by Christy Hotz and Albany, Georgia attorney Bob Beauchamp. They worked with Joey Longoria of Sims Architectural Studio to redesign the space into eight luxury condominium apartments featuring double-height ceilings and tall windows. Although most of the pews were sold, eight were salvaged and were to be included in the new lofts. A stained glass window from the church was donated to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The condominiums were marketed under the name Rayfield Legacy, but the project was left incomplete and the building was put back on the market.

In May 2009 Terry Lee of the Naia Corporation announced plans for his development company Twin Oaks Investment Group, to purchase the church as well as adjacent property for their headquarters office. Naia's $1.5 million investment is being assisted by a $414,000 two-year low interest loan from the City of Birmingham. Renovation of the church is part of a long-term plan for a technology education center.

Pastors

• Ellis M. Morton, 1921-1940
• C. L. Franklin, 1940-1945
• C. H. Parker, 1945-1983
• Roy C. Allen, 1984-2009

References

• Brock, Glenny. (April 6, 2006) "At home in the Lord's house: Historic church turns residential in the Lakeview district." Birmingham Weekly.
• "Developer gives stained-glass window to Civil Rights Institute" (August 5, 2005) Birmingham Business Journal
• Anderson, Richard K. (1996) "32nd Street Baptist Church Recording Project". Historic American Buildings Survey. National Park Service. Sheet 1 of 1.
• Garrison, Greg (March 8, 2009) "Birmingham area churches struggle in tough times." The Birmingham News
• Cooper, Lauren B. (May 5, 2009 ) "Naia tech firm to renovate historic church for offices." Birmingham Business Journal
• Kent, Dawn (February 28, 2010) "Birmingham developer plans to give former Southside church life as office, training space." The Birmingham News
• Hagerty, Bradley (January 31, 2011) "Church Foreclosures: Hard Times For God's Work" Morning Edition/NPR
• Gray, Jeremy (February 15, 2011) "Boarded up church near new Birmingham school causes concern." The Birmingham News
• Lyons, Linda (July 9, 2013) "The Historic 32nd Street Baptist Church Reborn: Exploring Intersections Of Adaptive Reuse And Sense Of Place" Florida State University, graduate thesis

External links

• Thirty-Second Street Baptist Church drawings and photographs at the Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
• Rayfield Legacy project website