Building of the Day: 828 Greene Avenue

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Antioch Baptist Church, originally Greene Avenue Baptist Church
Address: 828 Greene Avenue
Cross Streets: Lewis and Stuyvesant Avenues
Neighborhood: Bedford Stuyvesant
Year Built: 1887-1892
Architectural Style: Queen Anne/Romanesque Revival
Architect: Lansing C. Holden, tweaked by Paul F. Higgs
Other works by architect: Phillips Residence, 8th Ave, Park Slope & Magnolia Tree Earth Center, Bedford Stuyvesant.
Landmarked: Yes, individual landmark (1990)

The story: This building is a bit off the beaten path for most of my Bedford Stuyvesant wanderings, and showcases a part of Bedford Stuyvesant that doesn’t get enough attention, showing what a large community Bed Stuy really is. It is also an important architectural and cultural landmark. The Eastern District, as this area was known, one hundred years ago, covers this part of Bed Stuy that nestles up near Broadway and the Bushwick border. While Bushwick was a developing town of its own, this area was better known as a suburban retreat, and was almost totally residential, with large homes on large plots of land, places where a businessman could get away from the madding crowd. Only a few houses remain from that era.

By the mid 1880’s, developers had begun to build rowhouses on these blocks, and by the time this church was built, there were other houses on the block, which is one reason why the design is so special. Large churches tend to sit on corners, where they dominate the streetscape. Churches set into the middle of a residential block sometimes overpower that block, if the architect’s aim is to make it stand out. This church harmoniously joins the other Queen Anne style homes on the block, makes a bold design statement, but in its style and materials, is a perfect match to the rest of the block.

The church was built as the Greene Avenue Baptist Church, built by a congregation then calling themselves the Willoughby Avenue Baptist Church. In 1885, they purchased this land, formed a building committee, and chose Lansing Holden’s designs for a new church. The cornerstone was laid in 1887, but the church ran out of money, and could only build the basement, which they put a roof on, and used until more funds could be raised. Holden’s plans were modified by another architect, Paul Higgs, and the building was finally completed in 1892.

The building is classic Queen Anne, with a collection of massed shapes, most prominently the bowed front with beautiful stained glass windows. The towers and turreted corners, the ornamentation and building materials, and all the other details, including the wrought iron hinges on the doors, are first rate. This is a marvelous building.

The Greene Avenue Baptist Church thrived in the community, and was able to install new stained glass windows in 1910 and 1912. These are in excellent shape today. As Bedford Stuyvesant became prominently African-American, the membership moved to other neighborhoods, and in 1950, the building was sold to the Antioch Baptist Church. Antioch was one of the many black churches in Brooklyn to relocate from the Downtown area to Bedford Stuyvesant, as the center of the black community shifted to Bedford Stuyvesant. Over the years, the church has hosted many important speakers and guests, including Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Adam Clayton Powell, Rosa Parks, Ralph Abernathy, Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, Mayors John Lindsey and David Dinkins, as well as Aretha Franklin, Spike Lee, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Jackie Robinson and Langston Hughes. The church and the church house were landmarked in 1990, celebrating not only the architectural excellence, but the cultural importance of Antioch Church in the Bedford Stuyvesant and black community. GMAP