Orchard Street United Methodist Church, formerly known as Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church, is a historic Methodist Episcopal church

Methodist Episcopal Church

The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

 located at Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is a church built in a mixture of revival styles. It was constructed in 1837, with additions made in 1853, 1865, and 1882. The main church is Romanesque Revival, but the rear building is Romanesque with a large Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 window in its northeastern facade. The nave is approximately 54 feet by 75 feet and features clerestory window

Clerestory

Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...

s. The rear building is approximately 50 feet by 75 feet. The church was founded in 1825 by Truman Le Pratt, a former slave of Governor John Eager Howard

John Eager Howard

John Eager Howard was an American soldier and politician from Maryland. He was elected as governor of the state in 1789, and served three one-year terms. He also was elected to the Continental Congress, Congress of the United States and the US Senate. He was born in and died in Baltimore County...

. It now houses the offices of the Baltimore Urban League

National Urban League

The National Urban League , formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest...

 and is the oldest standing structure built by African-Americans in the city of Baltimore.

Orchard Street United Methodist Church 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 1975.

External links

• Orchard Street United Methodist Church, Baltimore City, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust
• Baltimore Urban League website