by Paul R. Spitzzeri
On this Juneteenth holiday, which marks the receipt of news on this day in 1865 at Galveston Bay, Texas from Union Army soldiers, following the end of the Civil War, of freedom for Black enslaved people, we look at the construction and dedication of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church at the southwest corner of 8th Street and Towne Avenue in downtown Los Angeles.
The First AME is usually said to have been founded in 1872, although the earliest located reference for this post is from the Los Angeles News of 11 March 1869, less than four years after that news of freedom reached southern Texas, which briefly reported that “we understand the colored people of this city have purchased a lot upon the Mott tract, with the design of building a church thereon.”
The 24 August edition of that paper remarked that “The Rev. Bishop [Thomas M.D.] Ward addressed the colored and a number of the white population of Los Angeles lasty Sabbath evening in the Methodist church, on Spring street. We understand the colored people have in contemplation the erection of a church of their own.” An advertisement in the Los Angeles Star on 25 September promoted a “Grand Festival” for five days later “given by the ladies of the A.M.E. Church . . . for the purpose of raising money to build a church,” these women including Biddy Mason, Amanda Ballard, Ann Pepper, Mary Hall and others.
The 7 September 1870 edition of the News, after the Star of 28 August briefly remarked on a contract being let, informed readers,
The colored people of Los Angeles have built a neat and substantial church edifice on the lot on Third street, purchased by them for that purpose some time ago. The pastor will be the Rev. M. Norton (colored), who, we understand, has already made good progress in gathering together a congregation.
The 26 October number of the News, however, commented that a festival was being held the next day “to raise funds to build a church.” In May 1872, a brief note in the Star observed that grasshoppers were in profusion “on the hills surrounding the M.E. colored church, while the Los Angeles Herald of 25 May 1875 mentioned that “the colored school will hereafter be held in the colored people’s church, on the height at the head of Third street,” this being on Bunker Hill.
A decline in membership and financial troubles beset the First A.M.E. as the local economy went into a tailspin following a panic that erupted that August, part of the national “Long Depression” that began in 1873 and continued through the rest of the decade. That original church ended up torn down and, as mentioned in the Los Angeles Times of 13 June 1885, “the site of the little old pioneer Colored Church is occupied by [Superior Court] Judge [Anson] Brunson’s fine home.” Brunson’s listing in the 1888 city directory showed his address as the northwest corner of Grand Avenue and 4th Street.
The Los Angeles Tribune of 2 January 1887 reported that the First A.M.E. was “in a dormant state for nine years,” but the Rev. Stephen Saven, arriving in Los Angeles in October 1885, revived it and “has raised the membership from nothing to twenty-four.” This happened as Mason’s daughter Ellen Owens married Granville Huddleston and their residence at 31 San Pedro Street because the location for church services.
By 1887, Los Angeles was engulfed in the Boom of the Eighties and conditions were such that, with the arrival of the Rev. Jordan Allen, an effort to build a new church was undertaken (it should be noted that an A.M.E. Zion Church was established during this time, as well). In spring 1888, the earliest work was launched and, on 21 October, the frame building at what was then San Pedro and Old Second streets, this latter soon becoming Azusa Street, was dedicated. It soon became known as the Stevens A.M.E. Church.
By the turn of the 20th century, it was clear that growth in the congregation required a newer and larger church structure, as well as a better locale, and the third major boom in Los Angeles transpired during this time and the growing African-American community was concentrated in an area from what is now Little Tokyo south towards today’s Interstate 10. The Times of 2 January 1902 briefly observed that “at a business meeting of Stevens African Methodist Episcopal Church [on the last day of 1901], it was decided to at once raise money for a new church home, and solicitors were appointed to secure subscriptions.”
The 24 April issue of the paper recounted that “the annual fair for the benefit” of the church “has closed with a net result of $300 for the new building fund” and it was added that,
This church plans to erect a commodious new building, with pastor’s study, reception rooms, Sunday-school rooms and the modern features of church building and will locate the new house of worship on a more desirable site than the present Azusa-street property.
The 27 August edition of the Times, in its listing of real estate transactions, recorded that Mary and Sarah Denison sold to the seven male trustees of the First A.M.E., two lots in the Denison Tract for $2,800. The property was located in what was previously the property of John Moran, a native of Ireland who migrated to Massachusetts in the mid-1840s and then came to California in 1853 with the prominent Los Angeles merchants David W. Alexander (also Irish) and Francis Mellus and became a soda water manufacturer. A Moran Lane was once located in that section of town and the tract was largely planted to grapevines for winemaking.
William H. Denison, an auctioneer who came to Los Angeles in early 1866, purchased some of the Moran tract and established a residence for him and his family on Kohler Street, a few blocks east of the church site. He, too, maintained a vineyard and, like Moran, belonged to a local winemakers’ association. Denison died on 18 May 1876 (his death notice was printed with that of Homestead founder William Workman, who took his life the prior day following the failure of his Temple and Workman bank that was a major casualty in the economic downturn referred to above) and his wife and children inherited the Denison Tract.
The First A.M.E. trustees took on some debt to finance their new building, but moved quickly on that, as the 20 October 1902 number of the Times observed that the Church “had a debt-raising time this morning, to liquidate the encumbrance on their new edifice.” The 2 March 1903 edition of the Los Angeles Express, in its “Building Permits” column, recorded that the Church, as owner and builder, took out a permit for a $17,500 building designed by architects L.B. Valk and Son.
Lawrence Bolton Valk (1837-1924), born at Pensacola, Florida as the Seminole Wars were underway, and moved with his family to the Queens borough of New York City and began his practice by 1859. He served three years in the Union Army during the Civil War and moved to Brooklyn, then an independent city (it became part of New York City in 1890), remaining there until he relocated to New Orleans in the mid-1880s. In 1894, Valk migrated to Alhambra, the San Gabriel Valley town east of Los Angeles, and had his Angel City office with son Arthur.
The following day’s issue of the Express reported that, among permits issued for the city’s Seventh Ward,
The building which brought this district to the front rank with certain buyers was the new African Methodist Episcopal church. This structure will be a frame one with a brick veneer on the street facade. It will be of one story, but will contain galleries in the interior. The work of construction will be done by the trustees, and they will let out the day work.
The real estate transactions column of Times of 16 April showed that the trustees deeded over the property to the church, denoted as the Stevens A.M.E. and a two-week long fair was held by the women of the institution with the 29 April edition of the paper recording that the fete “netted several hundred dollars for the new building fund,” which needed a significant influx of cash because the estimate of construction nearly doubled to $30,000, although it was not explained why.
In the general church listings for 16 May in the Times, it was remarked that “the construction . . . has progressed so well that the cornerstone will be laid tomorrow” and it was added that,
For several months this band of Christian workers has been toiling and planning to provide better facilities for Christian work. They soon found it necessary to change the location of their building in order to enlarge the plan and take up institutional and social settlement work.
Settlement work involving assisting new residents of a community (this was done for immigrants of other countries, as well) was a popular feature of religious effort at this time. The account went on that two lots, totaling 82’x150′ in size, were acquired and Valk hired to design the edifice, the cost of which was then pegged at $20,000.
It was noted that “in carrying out the idea of social settlement work, a day nursery with kindergarten, [and a] , reading-room and bureau of general information for the public good, will be among the first departments put in operation,” while “it is also designed to add other departments of industry and training from time to time, as necessity shall demand.” Lastly, it was remarked that “the building will be kept open day and night.”
Under the headline of “Colored Brother Rejoices,” the 18 May number of the paper went into some detail about the laying of the building’s cornerstone, remarking,
The First African Methodist Episcopal Church, whose new building is situated at Eighth street and Towne avenue, is nothing if not original. Most churches lay corner-stones and then build upon them. The [AME] has reared its house, and yesterday the cornerstone was laid. To be explicit, it was torn from its setting, where it had been informally put when the foundation was completed, and was formally and replaced by the pastor and church officers, in the presence of a large and representative assembly of the colored people of Los Angeles.
This church, as far as a rough exterior goes, is now well on its way to completion. The outer wall are all up, the first flooring has been laid, and all that remains to make a complete shell is the roof. Yesterday afternoon seats of rough boards housed all of the several hundred persons within the structure. Lack of funds, weather, building conditions and various things have delayed the corner-stone ceremony.
More than 400 persons attended the ceremony, which included choral music, prayers, scriptural readings and talks, and it seems clear that the expanded cost of the edifice was due to structural changes, likely a larger footprint, that involved relocating the cornerstone. This was followed by “a unique feature” in which “a large box was deposited in the center of the platform, and then the entire congregation filed down and deposited their free-will gifts within it . . . a goodly sum was received.” The assemblage moved to the northeast corner, that is, facing the intersection of 8th and Towne, to rededicate the cornerstone.
As this was taking place, the paper continued,
The crowd around was a picturesque sight. Many perched themselves on top of the church walls, and others filled the windows and doors several rows deep. A small platform, built around the corner of the church, supported the pastor [the Rev. Jarrett E. Edwards], and one or two assistants, while all around were gathered his parishioners. A wagon or so, drawn from the outskirts, upheld a concourse of amateur photographers [have any images survived other than the one appearing with the article?], and all around was a white fringe of [a] curious Caucasian population, inquisitively anxious to know what was going on.
The contents of the tin box included copies of church documents, those of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a copy of the New Testament, samples of religious newspapers and Angel City papers, including the Black-owned Liberator and Eagle, and the names of local officials, California governor George C. Pardee and President Theodore Roosevelt. The summary closed with the remark that “the ceremonies attending the placing of the stone were brief and simple, and were conducted entirely by the pastor, with the assistance of the official board.” The Los Angeles Record only briefly noted the ceremony, commenting, “the brethren believe that it is better to have the building first and then the rejoicing ceremonies afterwardwards [sic].”
Times, 16 September 1903.
The 16 September edition of the Times ran a feature on the visit of two Black bishops to Los Angeles, one, the Rev. Moses Salter, from the A.M.E. and the other, the Rev. J.W. Clinton, from the A.M.E. Zion denominations, as part of a general Methodist conference. A reception was held at the Azusa Street church “and the house was crowded,” while music and speeches comprised the program.
Reference was made to the new edifice, a revision of cost noted as $26,000, while it was remarked that a property for a parsonage for the Rev. Edwards, then in his sixth year despite a five-year rule for ministers to be in any one church, was acquired for $3,000, this being at 1520 S. Griffith Avenue, several blocks to the southeast and just to the north of today’s Interstate 10.
The account continued that,
This church plans to get into its new edifice by Thanksgiving Day, and it will use the old building on Azusa street for mission work. It is the intention of the church to take up institutional work as rapidly as possible. Later on a new building will be erected in the rear of the church for special work, but for the present the basement and some of the side rooms will be utilized. A gymnasium is to be fitted up in the basement for the men and boys; there will be a reading room and library, and a kindergarten and day nursery will be opened for the use of children whose mothers have to go out and work. The church has instituted what is called a “Men’s Forum,” which meets every Sunday afternoon, and is on the plan of the Y.M.C.A. It is proving very popular.
The 27 October number of the Express informed its readers that “work . . . is nearing completion” and “it is expected the building will be ready for occupancy by the [Christmas and New Year’s] holidays.” The paper noted that “this is to be a large institutional church and will represent the first effort of this kind on so extensive a scale undertaken by colored persons in Southern California.”
After repeating some of the other information noted above, the paper added that “it is expected the old church on Azusa street will be sold for enough to help pay for the building,” but that “in any event the congregation will have not more than $6,000 debt when the new building,” said to be “a model of architectural beauty,” was finished. As was so often the case with construction projects of most kinds, the deadlines of Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year’s were not met, so it was not until February 1904 that the edifice was ready for services.
The Record of 30 January recorded that Rev. Edwards would give his inaugural sermon in the new building on 7 February, at the 11 a.m. service, while “a platform meeting at 3 p.m. and a special young people’s gathering, with [a] sermon afterward, will complete the services.” The Express of 20 February noted that “dedication services will be held tomorrow morning in the new First African Methodist church,” with Bishop Benjamin F. Lee in charge of the service and speaking on the “Old Negro and the New,” the concept of the “New Negro” being an important one at the time and for some years prior.
On 6 March, an important early event took place at the new church as there was “a memorial to Mrs. Biddy Mason, an old pioneer of Los Angeles, conceded to have been the richest colored woman west of the Mississippi Valley,” and who died in 1891. The Times of the following day added,
This woman left a record, not alone of remarkable business acumen, considering her opportunities, but also as a great-harted [sic], charitable Christian, whose good works and lovable character are cherished in the hearts of many pioneers. The memorial window was placed in the new church by her daughter [Harriet], Mrs. W.H. Washington of Toberman street.
Mayor Meredith P. Snyder, a Methodist, spoke and praised “this beautiful new temple, just opened” and he went on that “the work being done by this institution is far-reaching, [and] immeasurable.” Further, the chief executive remarked, “we have to look to the church for the sustaining power of the best citizenship” and then related that it was nearly a quarter-century prior that “it was my privilege to first meet Biddy Mason, or Aunt ‘Biddy,’ as we all loved to call her.”
Snyder related that “I had come from the home of the colored people [North Carolina], and for some reason my employer sent me to see Aunt Biddy Mason.” He continued that “the kindly, cheerful greeting of this good soul made me feel almost that I was again at my old home” and commented, befitting a politician:
She was a good woman, and you are fully justified in today honoring her memory with this memorial window . . . Her life was an effort for others. Like Biddy Mason, let us order our conduct that people in contact with us may not forget us, and that our memories and deeds may shine forth as bright as the evening star.
The Rev. Chester H. Anderson of the Second Baptist Church, paid tribute to Mason, remarking “she was the first contributor to the building of the first colored Methodist church here years ago, having donated $500 to that cause,” this, of course, was the First A.M.E. Church mentioned above. The attorney managing her estate told the assemblage that her “influence seems to have touched so many lives” while he “dwelt on the nobility of her character.” He noted that it was not her wealth, but through “her sweet, helpful Christian character that Biddy Mason is remembered” as he declared “pioneers all praise her life of good deeds, raising the fallen and helping her race by practical aid and sterling example.”
The Rev. Peter Green, called a Moses of the Black Methodists of the Golden State, was “bent with the weight of years, and with a voice so weakened” that he could barely be heard by many, but “the old man detailed the struggles of early days, and the love of Biddy Mason for the church of Christ” generally, not just the A.M.E. Church.” It was “with tears streaming down his face,” that Green pointed to a portrait of Mason displayed on an easel and then to the window “an although his words were unheard, the actions of the man were eloquence itself.”
The church on 8th and Towne served the Angel City’s Black community for more than sixty years until the current edifice, designed by the renowned African-American architect Paul Williams, was built in the West Adams district and dedicated in May 1969. Three years later, on 4 July 1972, the older building, very recently declared a city historical monument and used as a homeless shelter, was consumed in a fire. Despite the destruction, the edifice is remembered as a landmark for Black Los Angeles and, fortunately, we have photos like the one recently acquired for the Museum’s collection, which, though dating from the 1940s, shows the beautiful Neo-Gothic style of this landmark structure.