National Register of Historic Places
Faith Missionary Baptist Church
Buffalo, Erie County, New York
The record
- Listed
- July 27, 2018
- Type
- Building
- Address
- 626 Humboldt Pkwy, Buffalo
- County
- Erie
- State
- New York
- Contributing resources
- 1 building
- Coordinates
- 42.91795, -78.84279
- Reference number
- 100002737
The story
Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com
Faith Missionary Baptist Church is a Neoclassical church building at 626 Humboldt Pkwy in Buffalo, Erie County, built from 1924 to 1925. The nomination names Louis Greenstein as architect.
Why it's listed
It was listed in the National Register in 2018 under criteria A and C, with local-level significance in architecture and social history spanning 1924 to 1969, reflecting its 1924-1925 construction and the 1969 opening of the Martin Luther King Memorial Center.
Physical character
The building stands on stone and concrete foundations, with brick and concrete walls faced in beige brick and cast stone, under a gabled roof. Its double-height sanctuary has Corinthian pilasters, a Palladian window, and stained glass windows patterned with the Star of David. A two-story brick and masonry addition built in 1968 and 1969 housed the Martin Luther King Memorial Center, an elevator and stair tower were added in 1975, and the pastor's office was renovated in 1981.
Historical context
In 1955 Temple Beth David's leadership decided the neighborhood's changing demographics made staying untenable, merged with Temple Ner Israel, and sold this building to Faith Missionary Baptist Church for $68,000. The Baptist congregation grew to 400 members by 1958, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited the church in 1960.