Black members of the multiracial First Baptist Church congregation purchased the existing (1802) church after white members built their own church on 12th Street, a block away. The black congregation added “African” to the church name. When the black congregation built a new church in 1876, it was patterned after the 12th Street church.
Neither landmark is used for worship any more – they’ve both been purchased and renovated by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
- Name: First African Baptist Church, aka Randolph Minor Hall
- Location: 310 College Street
- Year Completed: 1876
- Architect: Thomas U. Walker
- Style: Greek Revival
- Wikipedia: First African Baptist Church (Richmond, Virginia)
- National Register of Historic Places: Nomination Form
- Google Map
Gallery: Hover over photos for captions; click to view images in lightbox
Richmond_1143.jpg | 6096×4480
First African Baptist Church, aka Randolph Minor Hall
All images copyright © Kenneth Grant / photos taken October 2019 with Canon 5D Mark iv
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