Beyond the Village and Back: Harlem’s Mother A.M.E. Zion Church

In the early 1920s, Mother Zion Church, then located at 151 West 136th Street, bought three adjacent buildings on West 137th Street, which it demolished to make way for its next church. While many black congregations were moving to and growing in Harlem at this time, most purchased buildings formerly used by white congregations that had moved out of the neighborhood, as they had previously in other neighborhoods as well.

The Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church at 140-148 West 137th Street is the sixth home of New York City’s very first black church, and the founding church of the A.M.E. Zion Conference of churches. Today, the gorgeous neo-Gothic structure, built in 1923-1925, stands as a symbol of the city’s black, religious, and civil rights history while continuing to serve as a touchstone for over 1.4 million followers. In honor of Black History Month, we delve into the remarkable story of Mother Zion, which takes us beyond the Village and back. This story is adapted from a Village Preservation blog, which can be viewed here.