from the Columbia College Bronzeville Project

Pilgrim Baptist Church was a historic church located on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. On January 6, 2006, the church was destroyed in a fire. Located at 3301 S. Indiana Ave, the church was located in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood. Image File history File linksMetadata Pilgrim_600. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Pilgrim_600. ... ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bronzeville is a neighborhood (located in the Douglas community area) on the South Side of Chicago around the Illinois Institute of Technology, accessible via the Green Line of the Chicago Transit Authority. ...

The building was designed as a synagogue by Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, and built in 1890 and 1891. A Baptist congregation moved into the building in 1922, forming Pilgrim Baptist Church. In 1981 the building was designated a landmark by the city of Chicago. A synagogue or synagog (from Greek συναγωγή, transliterated sunagoge, place of assembly literally meeting, assembly) is a Jewish house of prayer and study. ... Louis Sullivan Louis Henry (Henri) Sullivan (September 3, 1856 - April 14, 1924) was an American architect, called the father of modernism, considered by many as the creator of the Prairie School of architecture, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, and a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright. ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A Baptist is a member of a Baptist church. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Marina City Apartments and Offices designed by Bertrand Goldberg The following buildings are considered Chicago landmarks. ...

The church is notable for being credited as the birthplace of gospel music in the 1930s. Thomas A. Dorsey, the "Father of Gospel Music", was once the music director at Pilgrim Baptist. The church hosted the funeral of boxer Jack Johnson in 1946. Gospel music may refer either to the religious music that first came out of African-American churches in the 1930s or, more loosely, to both black gospel music and to the religious music composed and sung by white southern Christian artists. ... Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 - January 23, 1993) is known as the Father of Gospel Music, and is best known today for his composition Take My Hand, Precious Lord. As formulated by Dorsey, gospel music combines Christian praise with the rhythms of jazz and the blues. ... Underwater funeral in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea A funeral is a ceremony marking a persons death. ... Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano at Madison Square Garden, 1951 Julio Cesar Chavez and Ivan Robinson at the Staples Centre, Los Angeles, 2005 Amir Khan of Britain and Mario Cesar Kindelan Mesa of Cuba at the Athens Olympics, 2004 Boxing, nicknamed the sweet science and also called pugilism or prizefighting... John Arthur Johnson (March 31, 1878 – June 10, 1946), better known as Jack Johnson and nicknamed the Galveston Giant, was an American boxer and arguably the best heavyweight of his generation. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

It is believed that the fire that destroyed the building may have started while workers were performing roof repairs during a $500,000 restoration.

External links

• Chicago Landmarks page
• Chicago Tribune news article on fire
• Columbia College Bronzeville Project (source of image above)
• BBC: Fire destroys historic US church