Miami Shores in Miami-Dade County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Miami Shores Community Church
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 13, 2023
1. Miami Shores Community Church Marker
Inscription.
Miami Shores Community Church, a member of the United Church of Christ, is the oldest church in Miami Shores. The Shoreland Company, the developers of Miami Shores, built the building in 1925 as a pump house and fire station. The original Mediterranean Revival building was converted to a community house in 1930. The Community Church moved into the building in 1933 and purchased it in 1942. The church board and Rev. Donald Douds invited Rev. Edward T. Graham, a Black minister, to preach at the church for Brotherhood Week in February 1949. In segregated South Florida during the Jim Crow era, this created controversy, with threats of violence made against Rev. Douds and Rev. Graham. Two crosses were burned on the church grounds and another at Rev. Grahams house in Miami. Rev. Graham later became a noted Civil Rights activist. Because of this incident, the City of Miami passed an ordinance banning the burning of crosses. In 1950, the church built the current sanctuary, adding a two-story secular school annex in 1953. The Community Church continues its commitment to social justice. In 2011, its congregation voted to become open and affirming, welcoming persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities. , A Florida Heritage Site
Miami Shores Community Church, a member of the United Church of Christ, is the oldest church in Miami Shores. The Shoreland Company, the developers of Miami Shores, built the building in 1925 as a pump house and fire station. The original Mediterranean Revival building was converted to a community house in 1930. The Community Church moved into the building in 1933 and purchased it in 1942. The church board and Rev. Donald Douds invited Rev. Edward T. Graham, a Black minister, to preach at the church for Brotherhood Week in February 1949. In segregated South Florida during the Jim Crow era, this created controversy, with threats of violence made against Rev. Douds and Rev. Graham. Two crosses were burned on the church grounds and another at Rev. Grahams house in Miami. Rev. Graham later became a noted Civil Rights activist. Because of this incident, the City of Miami passed an ordinance banning the burning of crosses. In 1950, the church built the current sanctuary, adding a two-story secular school annex in 1953. The Community Church continues its commitment to social justice. In 2011, its congregation voted to become open and affirming, welcoming persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
A Florida Heritage Site
Erected 2022 by The Miami Shores Historic Preservation Board,
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and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-1189.)
Location. 25° 51.964′ N, 80° 11.362′ W. Marker is in Miami Shores, Florida, in Miami-Dade County. It is on Northeast 4th Avenue near Northeast 99th Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9823 Northeast 4th Avenue, Miami FL 33138, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South Florida, on the Gold Coast, and in Greater Miami. It is also in the American South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 27, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 27, 2023, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 590 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on July 27, 2023, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.
