Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Sidney Park C.M.E. Church
Photographed by Anna Inbody, April 29, 2012
1. Sidney Park C.M.E. Church Marker
Sidney Park C.M.E. Church was founded in 1886 and has been at this site since 1889. It grew out of a dispute among members of Bethel A.M.E. Church, who left that congregation and applied to join the Colored Methodist Episcopal (now Christian Methodist Episcopal) Church. The congregation acquired this site in 1886 and built its first sanctuary, a frame building, in 1889. That church burned by 1892.
This Gothic Revival brick church, built in 1893, was constructed by members who provided materials and labor. In the 1930s many members joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the church later hosted many meetings during the Civil Rights Movement. Sidney Park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
Erected 2012 by The Historic Columbia Foundation, The City of Columbia, and the S.C. Department of Transportation. (Marker Number 40~159.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Architecture • Civil Rights • Religion & Religious Structures.
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Location. 34° 0.47′ N, 81° 2.221′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. It is on Blanding Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1114 Blanding Street, Columbia SC 29201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Midlands. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. 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: 1644 Main Street (within shouting distance of this marker); Cabaniss Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Seegers-Habenicht Building (within shouting distance of this marker); John C. Seegers (within shouting distance of this marker); Blanding Street (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lutheran Publication Building (about 300 feet away); Schulte-United Building (about 300 feet away); Lever Building (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbia.
Photographed by Anna Inbody, April 29, 2012
2. Sidney Park C.M.E. Church Marker Reverse
Photographed by Anna Inbody, April 29, 2012
3. Overview
Photographed by Anna Inbody, October 14, 2011
4. Interior of Sidney Park C.M.E. Church
Photographed by Anna Inbody, April 29, 2012
5. Sidney Park C.M.E. Church Cornerstone
Sidney Park C.M.E. Church. Rebuilt 1893. R.E. Hart, Pastor.
Photographed by Anna Inbody, April 29, 2012
6. Ornamental Ironwork atop the spire
Credits. This page was last revised on January 23, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 29, 2012, by Anna Inbody of Columbia, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,348 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on April 29, 2012, by Anna Inbody of Columbia, South Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
