Interior of the First African Baptist Church of Savannah , Georgia . Christopher S . Hunter
Kongolese spirit symbol in the First African Baptist Church of Savannah , Georgia . Christopher S . Hunter
Original chandeliers in the sanctuary of the First African Baptist Church of Savannah , Georgia . Christopher S . Hunter
1940s , when stucco was applied to the exterior to achieve its current look . The church once had a wooden steeple rising one hundred feet , constructed as early as 1883 , but it was destroyed by a hurricane a decade later . 6
FABC is adorned with architectural details that tell its story . The original stained-glass windows , installed in the 1880s , feature the images of the first six pastors of the church .
The wood flooring on the lower level is original to the building , with several symbolic details drilled into the floor in the form of Kongolese spirit symbols , a rare African-influenced feature . The detail served a dual purpose — decoration , and ventilation for the crawl space under the church , where enslaved runaways hid on their journey north . These symbols , repeated throughout the lower level , are called “ Yowa ,” which is the Kongo sign of the cosmos and the continuity of human life . 7
Wooden pews built by enslaved persons and original to the church are stored in the fellowship hall . A few years before electricity was introduced to Savannah in 1882 , the congregation installed chandeliers that made the Savannah Morning News . The church certainly tells a story .
African American Church Architecture in a Mississippi Delta Town
The community of Clarksdale , Mississippi , a rural town of just under 15,000 residents , 8 traces its roots back to the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians . It became a farming and plantation town and remained agricultural into the 1900s . Many African Americans worked as sharecroppers there and developed their own communities , with churches at the center . Today , many of these church houses remain in the still nearly 82 % Black town , 9 illustrating the variety of church architectural styles used in the early 20th century .
First Baptist Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1888 , and the building was erected in 1918 . The presence of twin towers , with crenellation , each anchoring a corner of the building , is a typical façade treatment . The church ’ s windows with semicircular arch header treatment are consistent with a Romanesque Revival style .
Friendship AME Church , erected in 1916 , does not have a lower occupiable level so the stairs leading to the entry are not as dramatic as many African American churches . The corner tower , however , is typical as a formal element to the main façade .
Centennial Missionary Baptist Church is a little different . It was organized in 1910 and constructed and remodeled in 1917 . The absence of a tower , which provides a symbolic anchor , is atypical in early African American church design . This church ’ s main façade is symmetrical in design , with a pediment detail — likely a later addition — centered above the entrance . A pediment is more typical of a Greek Revival architectural style , but in this case , there is no portico or columns . The façade features masonry pilasters instead .
Greek Revival style is more pronounced in the façade of the Haven United Methodist Church , which was organized in 1880
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