Downtown in Norfolk, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Bank Street Baptist Church

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, January 19, 2019

1. Bank Street Baptist Church Marker

Inscription. The Bank Street Baptist Church was built on this site in 1802 as a Presbyterian church. In 1840 it was purchased by a group of free blacks to serve them as a Baptist church. Because it had one of the first church bells in Norfolk, the building was known as the Bell Church. The church continued to serve the black community until its demolition in 1967 when the congregation moved to its new location on Chesapeake Boulevard.

Erected 1988 by Department of Conservation and Historic Resources. (Marker Number KN-3.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1802.

Location. 36° 51.086′ N, 76° 17.143′ W. Marker is in Norfolk, Virginia. It is in Downtown. It is at the intersection of East Charlotte Street and St Pauls Boulevard, on the right when traveling east on East Charlotte Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Norfolk VA 23510, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Hampton Roads,

specifically in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Freemason Street Baptist Church (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); First Baptist Church, Bute Street (about

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600 feet away); AKA Iota Omega (about 600 feet away); a different marker also named First Baptist Church (about 600 feet away); St. Joseph’s Catholic Church & School (about 600 feet away); The Cannonball Trail (about 600 feet away); Whitehead House, 1791 (about 600 feet away); Francis Drake, Free Black Barber (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Norfolk.

Photographed by Laura Troy, November 4, 2007

2. Bank Street Baptist Church Marker

Bank Street Baptist Church image. Click for full size.

3. Bank Street Baptist Church

Picture from Norfolk Public Library website

Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 5, 2007, by Laura Troy of Burke, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,717 times since then and 66 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on February 5, 2019, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. 2, 3. submitted on November 5, 2007, by Laura Troy of Burke, Virginia. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.