Lincoln Temple United Church of Christ
Encyclopedia
Lincoln Temple United Church of Christ is a congregation of the United Church of Christ
located in the Shaw
neighborhood in the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C.
Its church building is an historic structure that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1995.
The American Negro Academy, the first major African American learned society in the United States, was formed by the Rev. Alexander Crummell
and other intellectuals in 1897. It held its inaugural address in the church. Notable musicians such as Jessye Norman
, Marian Anderson
and Roberta Flack
have sung at the church. Preachers and scholars such as Julian Bond
and Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. have spoken from its pulpit.
d roof. The west façade
of the church is dominated by a rose window
and an arcaded portico. The portico features stone columns with foliate Byzantine capitals, corbelled
frieze
and a tile roof.
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
located in the Shaw
Shaw, Washington, D.C.
Shaw is a neighborhood located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. It is roughly bounded by M Street, NW or Massachusetts Avenue NW to the south; New Jersey Avenue, NW to the east; Florida Avenue, NW to the north; and 11th Street, NW to the west...
neighborhood in the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Its church building is an historic structure that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1995.
History
The congregation can trace its roots back to the Lincoln Industrial Mission, which was founded as an educational and social aid mission. It was built on this site in 1868-1869. Ten members of First Congregational Church established Lincoln Memorial Congregational Church in 1880 at the mission. The congregation merged with Park Temple Congregational Church in 1901 and it was given its present name.The American Negro Academy, the first major African American learned society in the United States, was formed by the Rev. Alexander Crummell
Alexander Crummell
Alexander Crummell was a pioneering African pastor, professor and African nationalist....
and other intellectuals in 1897. It held its inaugural address in the church. Notable musicians such as Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman is an American opera singer. Norman is a well-known contemporary opera singer and recitalist, and is one of the highest paid performers in classical music...
, Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century...
and Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
have sung at the church. Preachers and scholars such as Julian Bond
Julian Bond
Horace Julian Bond , known as Julian Bond, is an American social activist and leader in the American civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating...
and Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. have spoken from its pulpit.
Architecture
The present church building was designed by Howard Wright Cutler in the Italian Romanesque Revival style. It was completed in 1928. The building features a basilican plan with arched windows. The exterior has variegated brick and a gableGable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof. The west façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
of the church is dominated by a rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
and an arcaded portico. The portico features stone columns with foliate Byzantine capitals, corbelled
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
and a tile roof.