{"nrhp_refnum":"85001775","name":"Emmanuel AME Church","other_names":["Deliverance Temple Holy Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"710 Kent St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Durham","county":"Durham County","state":"NC","lat":35.99472605700004,"lon":-78.91857220899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-08-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The former Emmanuel A.M.E. Church is a two-story, gable-front Gothic Revival brick church on a quarter-acre lot at 710 Kent Street in the West End neighborhood of Durham, North Carolina. Construction began in 1888 under the supervision of Capt. Peyton Smith.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is the oldest surviving religious building erected by a Durham congregation and a handsome example of the Gothic Revival style. It also argues the building represents the development of the West End black community and the achievements of the Fitzgerald family, especially Richard Burton Fitzgerald, a brick manufacturer who donated the land and building materials.","narrative":"Built in 1888 of solid brick on a sloping lot in Durham's West End, the Emmanuel A.M.E. Church is a two-story gable-front building with a three-story pyramidal-roofed tower, lancet windows filled with stained glass, and a marble cornerstone inscribed with the construction date. Richard Burton Fitzgerald donated the land, deeded in 1887, and the building materials. Fitzgerald was a brickmaker who is reported to have become Durham's first black millionaire, and he operated a pharmacy and helped establish the Coleman Manufacturing Company of Concord. The congregation was the first religious institution in the West End black community and served as a community center for several decades. The church's interior retains its sanctuary layout, a tiered platform, an altar rail of sawn balusters, and two original brass chandeliers. The nomination regards it as the most distinguished surviving building linked to the Fitzgerald family and to early black church building in Durham.","period_of_significance":"1888","architect_builder":"Capt. Peyton Smith (builder)","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"The church was altered by stucco covering in 1962; the congregation relocated in 1971, and the building was later sold and is used by Deliverance Temple Holy Church.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:41.110916-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/67/7177/47717767/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/85001775.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001775/45ec8c4607-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001775/45ec8c4607-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tpudlik","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Facade_of_(former)_Emmanuel_AME_Church,_view_2.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Tpudlik</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Facade_of_(former)_Emmanuel_AME_Church,_view_2.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100010669","name":"West End Cemeteries Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/west-end-cemeteries-historic-district-100010669/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717767","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_AME_Church_(Durham,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5373112"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/durham-county/emmanuel-ame-church-85001775/"}