Saint Paul African Union Methodist Protestant (AUMP) Church is the only DC church that evolved from what is considered the oldest incorporated, independent African American denomination in the country. Dating from 1813, the AUMP denomination is also noted for having initiated America’s oldest continuously celebrated African American religious festival, the Big Quarterly, or “August Quarterly,” founded in 1814.
This church building from 1924 was designed by local architect R.C. Archer, Jr., and is significant as a modest place of worship for a working-class African American community in the industrial environment surrounding Washington’s Navy Yard. Its modest scale reflects the circumstances of its creation and its surrounding neighborhood, while its ecclesiastical Gothic Revival design reflects the congregation’s pride in their house of worship and their respect for tradition.
The Saint Paul’s building retains a high degree of integrity and is the most intact church building of its type and of its era erected by an African American congregation in the southeast quadrant west of the Anacostia River.
DC Inventory: November 18, 2010
National Register: July 28, 2011
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