{"nrhp_refnum":"80002868","name":"Center Street A.M.E. Zion Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S. Center St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Statesville","county":"Iredell County","state":"NC","lat":35.77910926000004,"lon":-80.88494822999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-11-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A late Gothic Revival brick church on the east side of South Center Street in Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, built in 1903 as the congregation's third church on the site.","why_significant":"It is described as the oldest structure associated with a black congregation in Statesville. The congregation formed as Mt. Pleasant in 1868 or 1869, soon after the Civil War, and later became A.M.E. Zion. Its elaborate brickwork and Gothic Revival style are characteristic of substantial churches built for black congregations around the turn of the century.","narrative":"Center Street A.M.E. Zion Church is a brick church on South Center Street in Statesville, completed in 1903. It is the third building the congregation has used on the site; the two earlier churches were frame structures. The late Gothic Revival design has a steep gable roof of pressed tin and two corner entrance towers of unequal height. Corbelled string courses, pointed-arch openings, a large stained glass window and a round window with a Star of David design enliven the facade. The congregation began as Mt. Pleasant in 1868 or 1869, when Black Methodists withdrew from white-led churches after the Civil War. Sidney S. Murdock donated the lot in the Depot Hill community. It later joined the A.M.E. Zion denomination. Three of its ministers became bishops. It is regarded as the oldest structure tied to a Black congregation in Statesville, and it is still in use and maintained by its congregation.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The church is in use and maintained by the congregation; condition is listed as good and altered, with a brick and cinderblock rear addition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:57.711703-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/96/7180/47718096/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/80002868.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002868/302278322f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002868/302278322f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"JERRYE &amp; ROY KLOTZ, M.D.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CENTER_STREET_A.M.E._ZION_CHURCH,_STATESVILLE,_IREDELL_COUNTY,_NC.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ, M.D.</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CENTER_STREET_A.M.E._ZION_CHURCH,_STATESVILLE,_IREDELL_COUNTY,_NC.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100012437","name":"Garfield and Green Streets Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/garfield-and-green-streets-historic-district-100012437/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718096","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_Street_A.M.E._Zion_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5059349"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/iredell-county/center-street-a-m-e-zion-church-80002868/"}