CHICAGO - A landmark church known as the birthplace of gospel music has opened its doors for the first time since a fire two years ago ravaged the structure on the city's South Side.
The historic Pilgrim Baptist Church played host Sunday to members of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs in Chicago for their annual convention. The group toured the salvaged space of the church.
The building was designed in the late 1800s by the famous architectural firm headed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler.
Mahalia Jackson, Sallie Martin, James Cleveland, and the Staples Singers are among those who have sung at the church.
Pilgrim Baptist Church, formerly Kehilath Anshe Ma'ariv Synagogue, is a historic church located on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. The church was notable both as an architectural landmark and for the cultural contributions by the congregation of the church. Located at 3301 S. Indiana Ave, the church was in the heart of Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.
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The building was designed as a synagogue by Chicago architects Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, and built in 1890 and 1891. Originally, the structure was the home of Kehilath Anshe Ma'ariv [1], an important congregation in the development of Reform Judaism; Adler was a member, and his father was a rabbi. That congregation continues as K.A.M. Isaiah Israel Temple.
A Baptist congregation moved into the building in 1922, forming Pilgrim Baptist Church.
The church is credited as the birthplace of gospel music in the 1930s. Thomas A. Dorsey, the "Father of Gospel Music", was the music director at Pilgrim Baptist for decades. Albertina Walker, Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Sallie Martin, James Cleveland, The Staples Singers, and The Edwin Hawkins Singers are among those who have sung at the church.
Famous members of the congregation include Bessie Coleman. The church also hosted the funeral service of boxer Jack Johnson in 1946, and was prominent in the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered sermons at the church during the height of the movement.
In 1973, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the building was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1981.
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