Butler Street Colored Methodist Episcopal Church
.jpg){kind=link}
Why it's listed
Butler Street Colored Methodist Episcopal Church is a tan brick, vernacular Neo-Gothic Revival building at 23 Butler Street, S.E., in Atlanta, just south of the Sweet Auburn Historic District. Completed in 1920, it was built by day laborers supervised by builder H. Whitworth. Its pointed-arched stained glass windows, pressed tin ceilings and wooden railings with Gothic tracery are the main architectural features. One window carries a pictured likeness of Bishop Lucius H. Holsey, a C.M.E. leader who helped found the congregation in 1882 and who died the year the church was finished. The congregation's first church, a wood building on land donated by businessman John T. Grant in 1884, was demolished to make way for the present structure. The church is one of several historic Black churches near Auburn Avenue, an area that flourished as a center of Black enterprise and social life between 1880 and 1930. It is still in religious use and remains largely unaltered.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues significance in architecture, religion and local history. The church is a vernacular Neo-Gothic building built for and by Atlanta's Black community, with notable pressed tin ceilings, stained glass and Gothic tracery railings. It is tied to Bishop Lucius H. Holsey, a prominent C.M.E. leader, and to the Sweet Auburn area, a major center of Black business and social life from 1880 to 1930.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83000228, listed May 9, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 23 Butler St., SE, Atlanta |
|---|---|
| County | Fulton County |
| Listed | May 9, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000228 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- (specific date 1920) |
| Architect / builder | Builder: H. Whirworth (spelled H. Whitworth in the narrative) |
| Architectural style | Vernacular Neo-Gothic Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied; used as a religious building; condition marked good and unaltered, on its original site. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Sweet Auburn Historic District |
| Coordinates | 33.75384, -84.38063 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83000228.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q122441983
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.