The historically black churches are some of the last structures from the Central Avenue district.
By DENISE WATSON BATTS
Published May 14, 2004
DOWNTOWN - Four historically black churches near downtown's Central Avenue are a step closer to becoming local landmarks.
The Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission voted Monday that the churches fall within Tampa's guidelines for historic preservation, said Annie Hart, administrator of the city's Historic Preservation Commission.
They are:
- St. James Episcopal Church at 1202 N Governor St., built about 1921;
- Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church at 1212 E Scott St., built about 1922;
- Greater Bethel Baptist Church at 1201 N Jefferson St., built about 1948;
- Paradise Missionary Baptist Church, formerly Allen Temple AME Church at 1112-1116 E Scott St., built about 1912.
Landmark status could provide tax exemptions on improvements to the properties.
The churches are some of the last structures from the Central Avenue district, a hub of the African-American community beginning in the late 19th century. The Williams Cigar Co. opened on Scott Street in 1906. In 1913, Walter Armwood opened the first black-owned drugstore, Gem Drug Store, on Central, according to a report submitted to the Planning Commission. The Tampa Bulletin started in 1914 on Orange Avenue and became one of the leading black-owned newspapers in the country. Doctors' and dentists' offices cropped up, as well as schools.
In 1893, there were five black-owned businesses. By 1910, there were more than 80.
The four churches provided a sense of stability in the community, according to the report. Built in brick, they were constructed in Romanesque and Gothic revival architectural styles.
St. James Episcopal Church belongs to the city's Housing Authority and is vacant. It is in the Central Park Village Housing project, an area formerly known as the Scrub, an African-American neighborhood.
Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church was built for the first congregation of Black Seventh-Day Adventists in Tampa in 1922. It became Ebenezer in 1970. Over the years, it has established many community outreach programs. It led the push for the churches to receive the landmark designation, Hart said.
Greater Bethel Baptist Church formed in a tent in 1893 and later met in a wooden building. The existing brick structure was built about 1948 and at the time was the second tallest building in Tampa. Its sound system was created to be heard within a 2-mile radius to alert the community to services or a death in the congregation.
Paradise Missionary Baptist Church is known for its large towers on the facade, set-off buttresses on the towers, and ornamental detail and craftmanship. It was Allen Temple AME church until about 1990 when the congregation moved to another location. Paradise Missionary moved into the building in 2000.
The landmark designation now moves to the City Council for approval.
