{"nrhp_refnum":"71000087","name":"African Meetinghouse","other_names":["First African Baptist Church","African Baptist Church Society"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"8 Smith St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.359957164000065,"lon":-71.06547060505292,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-10-07","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1974-05-30","areas_of_significance":["Black","Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Federal-style brick meeting house at 8 Smith Court on the north slope of Beacon Hill in Boston, built in 1806 entirely by black labor for the First African Baptist Church.","why_significant":"It is described as the oldest surviving Afro-American church building in the United States. It housed Boston's first black church, founded in 1805 under Reverend Thomas Paul, and became the focal point of the city's black community. It was also where William Lloyd Garrison organized the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1832.","narrative":"Built in 1806 entirely by black labor, this red brick meeting house on Smith Court, on the north slope of Beacon Hill, measures 40 by 48 feet and follows the Federal style. Its street facade has four elliptical arches, with entrance doors in the two center arches, topped by tall arched windows. Inside, a double stairway curves up to the gallery, and the original pews and raised altar platform survive. The building housed the First African Baptist Church, organized in 1805 by Reverend Thomas Paul and about twenty others as Boston's first black church. It served as the main gathering place for the city's black community and later hosted the founding of the New England Anti-Slavery Society under William Lloyd Garrison in 1832. It is considered the oldest surviving Afro-American church building in the country. A Jewish congregation used it after about 1900. The Museum of Afro American History bought it in 1972 and is restoring it following a 1973 fire.","period_of_significance":"1806 - c. 1900","architect_builder":"Built by black laborers and craftsmen (no individual architect named)","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the Museum of Afro American History, which bought it in 1972 and is restoring it after a February 1973 fire damaged the roof and part of the interior; it is to become a museum and library. Condition listed as fair.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.789262-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/99/7938/63793899/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/71000087_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000087/f8469088d0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000087/f8469088d0-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"The original uploader was Swampyank at English Wikipedia.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:African_Meeting_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">The original uploader was Swampyank at English Wikipedia.</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:African_Meeting_House.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000130","name":"Beacon Hill Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/beacon-hill-historic-district-66000130/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793899","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Meeting_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3329655"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/african-meetinghouse-71000087/"}