deTour: First African Baptist Church
The Blue Grass Trust’s deTours is a group of young professionals (and the young at heart). The program provides behind-the-scenes tours of historic buildings, places, and sites in central Kentucky. BGT deTours are free and open to the public. They occur on the first Wednesday of every month.
Sunday, HISTPRES shared the story of First African Baptist Church. Jump on over and check it out!
Below is a photo essay about our visit to the site. If you are interested in furthering the First African Foundation’s mission to purchase and renovate the church please go to their site to donate or learn more.
Folks from the Blue Grass Trust and the First African Foundation waiting for the tour to begin.
FAB was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the 1980s.
The portico was added to the building in 1926.
When the congregation moved, they took the stained glass with them to the new sanctuary.
The church was located in the heart of the African American community.
BGT deTour committe member Whitney holds the door as the large group made its way into the sanctuary
The sanctuary originally included opalescent trompe l’oeil stonework and a large mural. The congregation took the mural with them when they moved to a new location.
The sanctuary as it looks today.
The stained glass was replaced by clear glass after FAB moved to a new location.
The Italiante windows have an obvious Gothic influence when seen in silhouette.
The stained glass in the collegiate tudor addition was left in place when the church moved.
Yvonne Giles gave a breif tour of the neighborhood before we entered the church.
The crowd listening to Yvonne spin tales of the once vibrant community.
Details on the portico.
The portico and collegiate tudor addition were built in 1926.
Newspaper clippings were displayed in the former sanctuary.
The newspaper accounts helped bring the space alive.
Members of the church standing on the front steps.
Bricks + Mortar 
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