2520 Buchanan Street
Arnold Methodist Episcopal Church, Angelus Spiritual Church, Central Baptist Church, Faithful Mount Triumph Missionary Baptist Church
This church was built in the early 1890s. By 1892, it was occupied by Arnold Methodist Episcopal Church, and Reverend Andrew Wood was presiding over the congregation.
Throughout the 1890s, the church was a pillar of the community. In July 1892, the church hosted a picnic on Belle Isle for the congregation. In November 1893, the structure pictured here hosted a Grand Temperance Rally. In February 1896, the church hosted entertainment from the Washington Era of American History. George and Martha Washington were in attendance (in costume), and the church choir performed. In June 1898, the Arnole Methodist Episcopal Church hosted a patriotic rally and flag-raising ceremony. Multiple church officials spoke, the choir performed, and Stevens’ Tent Band played into the afternoon.
According to the Detroit Free Press in August 1899, “The church property was reported valued at $7,000 and is fully insured,” and trustees had recently spent over $100 redecorating the church. The congregation had a large Sunday School and had missionaries to bring new pupils into the program.
In November 1904, the church hosted a Thanksgiving Concert starring Michael F. Phau, tenor, and Harry G. Funk, baritone. Both musicians were students of A. M. Straub.
In April 1907, the church hosted a rummage sale and placed an advert in the paper looking for donations of clothing and furniture. In December, Miss Corinne Russel sang nightly at church services.
Despite a large congregation, Arnold Methodist Church wasn’t always smooth sailing. In February 1908, the newspaper reported a “Lively Little Rumpus” at the church. Reverend J. E. Balmer, a young pastor, was ruffling feathers with advanced ideas about scripture. John Murray, a parishioner, said, “I’ve seen more usurpers of the divine word in my 15 years in Arnold M. E. Church than in all the rest of my life. Now, this young Mr. Balmer tries to tell me that the verse that I have studied all my life might have been said by St. John instead of Christ.”
Before Reverend Balmer’s appointment, Reverend F. S. DeVona was beloved by the congregation. He was transferred to Trenton, a small community downriver from Detroit. Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Levy, who lived on Linden Street, were upset with Reverend Balmer, so they wrote to their former pastor and opened “their home, and prayer meetings are now held there every week, at which Rev. Mr. DeVona preaches.” Other parishioners asked Reverend John Sweet, the presiding elder of the church, to tell DeVona to stop preaching in another minister’s field.
At some point in 1908, Reverend Sidney D. Eva became affiliated with the church. Under his tenure, the church would leave the structure pictured here.
In October 1911, the Detroit Free Press reported that “Arrangements have been completed for the consolidation of the Arnold M. E. Church at Seventeenth and Buchanan Streets and the Haven M. E. Church at Sixteenth and Bagg Streets, and the two congregations are planning to build a find new structure on Fourteenth Avenue about midway between the present edifices.” The consolidation, land purchase, and construction were estimated at $40,000, though it was later reported to have cost $60,000. The parish’s current houses of worship were set to be sold. The new building at 4001 14th Street was designed by Harley & Atcheson and dedicated in March 1913. By March 1914, the congregation had grown to nearly 700. The former Arnold M. E. Church, pictured here, still stands, and the former Haven M. E. Church was demolished decades ago.
I’m not sure who immediately purchased the structure pictured here; however, by the early 1920s, it was used as a hall. On May 24, 1924, the Detroit Free Press published an article titled “2 Nude Dancers Taken in Raid on One Time Church.” The women were arrested for indecent exposure after Lieutenant Lester Potter and his squad entered the joint in the early hours of the morning. Events like this were called ‘smokers’ and were fairly common in Detroit at the time. The dancers were Babette Dalson, alias Cobb, and Edith Rinker.
By 1931, the structure was in use by the Angelus Spiritual Church TMSSA. Dr. L. Ray Bute was pastor, and the church often advertised in the Detroit Free Press, noting their church’s free parking and “demonstration full form materialization.” Materialization, or manifestation, is the appearance of things from an unknown origin or, in this case, signs from God. The church was at this location through 1933, taking shelter at a different address before and after it called 2520 Buchanan Street home.
In July 1944, the church was for sale. It was listed as having a capacity of 600 and being fully equipped with a piano, chairs, tables, and a parking lot.
According to the Michigan Chronicle, the Central Baptist Church was founded in February 1944 by Reverend J. C. Noble, the former pastor of King Solomon Baptist Church at 9244 Delmar Street. King Solomon is one of Detroit’s most historic churches, and Central would grow to be similarly influential. Reverend William J. Bishop served the church starting around 1944.
I’m not certain when Central Baptist moved into the structure pictured here; however, it was at this location by 1947.
The church continued to grow as new parishioners joined the movement and new associate pastors, like Reverend George. H. Hutchinson in 1959, were added to meet the demand. In 1962, Governor John B. Swainson spoke at the church. Swainson had become governor at just 35 years old and was the second youngest ever, behind Michigan’s first governor, Stevens T. Mason, who was 23 when he was elected governor in 1835.
In 1983, Central Baptist Church purchased the former Rosedale Park Evangelical Lutheran Church at 15170 Archdale Street, where it remains today. At the time, Reverend William J. Bishop was still with the church, so he likely played a part in the move. He had a stroke in 1985 that left him unable to speak, and he passed on June 1, 1987, at Southwest Detroit Hospital.
Faithful Mount Triumph Missionary Baptist Church was incorporated on the state level in 1977 by Reverend Edward B. Freeman. The original registered address was 7152 West Chicago, but the church moved, on paper, to the structure pictured here by 1985.
Faithful Mount Triumph Missionary Baptist Church still occupies this building, which has hardly changed over the last century. Buchanan Street used to be lined with homes, businesses, and housing. There are fewer structures today than when the church was built in the 1890s. Hopefully, if redevelopment ensues, this one can be a reminder of what was once here.
