Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Bethel A.M.E. Church

Photographed By Mike Stroud, 2010

1. Bethel A.M.E. Church Marker

Inscription.
This church, founded in 1866, was one of the first separate African-American congregations established in Columbia after the Civil War. It met in buildings on Wayne St., at Lincoln & Hampton Sts., and at Sumter & Hampton Sts. before acquiring this site. This sanctuary, a Romanesque Revival design, was built in 1921 and was designed by noted black architect John Anderson Lankford (1874-1946).

John Anderson Lankford, one of the first registered black architects in the U.S., was later supervising architect of the A.M.E. Church. Bethel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In 1995 its congregation moved to the former Shandon Baptist Church on Woodrow St. In 2008 the Renaissance Foundation began restoring the historic church as a cultural arts center.

Erected 2008 by The Historic Columbia Foundation, the City of Columbia, and the S.C. Department of Transportation. (Marker Number 40-150.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Churches & Religion. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1866.

Location. 34° 0.413′ N, 81° 2.046′ W. Marker is in Columbia

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, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. Marker is at the intersection of Sumter Street and Taylor Street, on the right when traveling north on Sumter Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1528 Sumter Street, Columbia SC 29201, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Site of Gibbes House (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); First Baptist Church (about 500 feet away); Taylor Street (about 500 feet away); Ordinance of Secession (about 500 feet away); Canal Dime Savings Bank/Bouie v. City of Columbia (1964) (about 500 feet away); Efird's Department Store / Mast General Store (about 600 feet away); We Shall Not Be Moved (about 600 feet away); Lever Building (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbia.

Regarding Bethel A.M.E. Church. Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is significant as the work of John Anderson Lankford, one of the first registered African American architects in the United States, and official architect for the A.M.E. Church. Lankford received training in engineering, mechanics and construction arts at Lincoln Institute, and after graduation became part owner of a blacksmith shop. His work caught the attention of Booker T. Washington, who invited him to Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Following a distinguished academic career, Lankford

Bethel A.M.E. Church Marker, reverse side image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 21, 2010

2. Bethel A.M.E. Church Marker, reverse side

taught for a time at Tuskegee. Lankford went on to teach at other technical institutes in Alabama and in North Carolina, where he designed his first building, a machine shop for the Coleman Cotton Mills in Concord, North Carolina. By 1901 Lankford had acquired a respected reputation for buildings in several states. The church is a monumental Romanesque Revival brick church building built in 1921. The church has a rectangular plan with a gable roof and two towers on its façade. The north tower is three stages above the basement, while the south is two stages. The north tower has a tripartite stained glass window beneath a semicircular arch at its first stage; three windows of stepped height, corresponding to an interior staircase, at its second stage; and an open belfry with a tripartite arcade on the third level. Each tower terminates in a brick parapet, resting upon corbelled brickwork, with tall pyramidal roofs crowning the whole. The center of the façade has a large round-arched window with three arched windows and two roundels beneath an encompassing semicircular arch, and a tripartite louvered vent beneath the gable end. Listed in the National Register May 24, 1982.
(Historic Resources of Columbia)

National Register of Historic Places:
Bethel A.M.E. Church (added 1982 - - #82003899)
♦ Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering
♦

Bethel A.M.E. Church and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, February 21, 2010

3. Bethel A.M.E. Church and Marker

As seen along North Sumter Street
National Register of Historical Places: Bethel A.M.E. Church (added 1982 - Building - #82003899)

Architect, builder, or engineer: Lankford,John Anderson
♦ Architectural Style: Romanesque
♦ Area of Significance: Architecture
♦ Period of Significance: 1900-1924
♦ Owner: Private
♦ Historic Function: Religion
♦ Historic Sub-function: Religious Structure
♦ Current Function: Religion
♦ Current Sub-function: Religious Structure

Additional commentary.
1. Marker stolen & returned!
Police reported that, on Wednesday April 12, 2017, that this marker has been stolen. ABC Network story about theft

On April 29th the marker was returned to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, after two men said they found it outside of the church. It now awaits funds to repair and reinstall.

— Submitted April 20, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

Additional keywords. NRHP

Credits. This page was last revised on May 15, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 1, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,234 times since then and 62 times this year. Last updated on May 15, 2023, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 1, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.