Historic D.C. church lands on most-endangered list
Gallery
The crumbling church, dedicated in 1886, has hosted notable civil rights figures and statesmen but now faces a repair bill of about $11 million, which it cannot afford.
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The glorious stained-glass Episcopacy Window has been removed, its empty frame high above M street now covered with sheets of plastic.
Water has damaged the plaster walls near the oak-and-pine pew where abolitionist Frederick Douglass sat. And the ceiling that collapsed not far from where the body of civil rights icon Rosa Parks rested is concealed by planks and scaffolding.
Although the curving pews of Washington’s Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church still embrace the memory of those who hallowed the structure, on Wednesday it is scheduled to be named among the nation’s most endangered historic places.
More than a century after it was dedicated in 1886, the red brick edifice at 1518 M St. NW, which has hosted presidents, statesmen and some of the greatest figures in the nation’s struggle against racial oppression, is crumbling.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation plans to announce that the church is included on its 2010 list of the country’s most endangered historic sites.
Continue here.
Historic D.C. church lands on most-endangered list
Gallery
The crumbling church, dedicated in 1886, has hosted notable civil rights figures and statesmen but now faces a repair bill of about $11 million, which it cannot afford.
|
// = 0 ) ? wp_article.comments_period : 3 ;
if ( typeof thisNode == ‘undefined’ )
thisNode = ‘admin’ ;
// (wp_article.allow_comments) && !(black list) && (white list) of ancestors and sections goes here
if ( SITELIFE_ENABLED
&&
( typeof wp_article != “undefined” && typeof wp_article.allow_comments != “undefined” && wp_article.allow_comments != “no” )
&&
!( thisNode.match(/\/wires$/) || thisNode.match(/^artsandliving\/(entertainmentguide|entertainmentnews|travel\/index)($|\/)/) || thisNode.match(/^business\/(portfolio)($|\/)/) || thisNode.match(/^metro\/(obituaries)($|\/)/) )
&&
( thisNode.match(/^(artsandliving|business|cars|education|health|jobs|liveonline|metro|nation|opinions?|realestate|religion|politics|sports|technology|world|kidspost|media)($|\/)/) || thisNode.match(/^print\/(washpostmagazine|style|sundayarts|sundaysource|weekend)($|\/)/) ))
{
COMMENTS_ALLOWED = true ;
document.write(”
#ArticleCommentsWrapper {display:block};
// ]]>”); if(! checkDaysOld(comments_period) ) { COMMENTS_ACTIVE = true ; } else { COMMENTS_ACTIVE = false ; } } else { document.write(”); } // –> // <![CDATA[
if (SITELIFE_ENABLED) {
// Include the WPNI functions to display SiteLife content on the page.
document.write(“\n”);
}
// ]]>
//
|
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The glorious stained-glass Episcopacy Window has been removed, its empty frame high above M street now covered with sheets of plastic.
// <![CDATA[
var rn = ( Math.round( Math.random()*10000000000 ) );
document.write(”) ;
// ]]>Water has damaged the plaster walls near the oak-and-pine pew where abolitionist Frederick Douglass sat. And the ceiling that collapsed not far from where the body of civil rights icon Rosa Parks rested is concealed by planks and scaffolding.
Although the curving pews of Washington’s Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church still embrace the memory of those who hallowed the structure, on Wednesday it is scheduled to be named among the nation’s most endangered historic places.
More than a century after it was dedicated in 1886, the red brick edifice at 1518 M St. NW, which has hosted presidents, statesmen and some of the greatest figures in the nation’s struggle against racial oppression, is crumbling.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation plans to announce that the church is included on its 2010 list of the country’s most endangered historic sites.
A couple of weeks ago I attended a performance of August Wilson‘s play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the Guthrie Theater here in Minneapolis. The play was intense, humorous, and profane. It surfaced the complex ways Christianity has become a part of the fabric of African-American culture–even for those who have found themselves responding to the church and its message with skepticism and rage, as “white man’s religion.” After the play, for the second time this year, I had the opportunity to be a part of a panel of theologians after the performance (many thanks to United Theological Seminary president Mary McNamara’s hard work in arranging these panels). 
–>
Discussion Policy
Why Do I Have to Log In Again?
Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians
Grateful to the dead 