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New Pilgrim Baptist Church
903 6th Avenue S, Birmingham AL
Text and photos by Carroll Van West
Description
The historic New Pilgrim Baptist Church sits at a busy intersection southwest of the downtown business district in Birmingham, Alabama. Built in two stages, 1946 and 1959, the church blends a gable-front building in Contemporary Gothic styling of 1959 with the earlier 1946 red-brick corner tower building that had also exhibited Gothic styling.
The north façade contains a high open-gable canopy that covers the entire façade and projects from the parapet line, supported by four slender square hollow metal posts that rise to the underside of the open roof. These towers are set back from the central north façade but project at the east and west elevations. The 1959 renovation further modernized the façade by creating three white stripes down its face by application of white plywood panels: the central and widest comprises the central paired double doors, which are now single-light glass in a wood frame; the metal-frame painted glass windows above; and the upper wall and the spandrel. There are narrower stripes of the same type on the tower-front bays, which contain single-door entries and smaller windows above them. An attenuated cross, rising to the gable peak, is attached to the façade, with the crossing above the upper windows. Central steps go up to the concrete porch. At the tower sides, the old round window heads peep out over the canopy roof slopes.
The east elevation exhibits largely the wall of the 1946 red-brick church, but is obscured by an adjacent commercial business that has a one-story brick wall. The sanctuary nave is long under a single gabled roof, with metal-frame rectangular painted glass windows with lower hopper panels, separated by small shouldered buttresses that define the bays. Two of these buttresses decorate, but do not define the edges of, the towers. Between these on the east side of the tower is a single 6-over-6 wood sash window; another round-head one above is all but obscured by the gabled canopy roof.
The south elevation is the rear section of the 1959 addition. It has two symmetrical bays, with metal-framed six-over-six slag glass painted blue windows. Between the windows on the first story and the second story is a concrete white panel and above the second story windows are concrete white panels in the top of which is a rectangular metal ventilation grille. The combination of rectangular panels and rectangular windows give this elevation a decided 1960s look.
The west elevation is an one-story asphalt flat-roof administrative and classroom building that was attached from front to rear to the original west wall of the 1946 brick church. Metal-framed six-pane windows of slag glass painted blue are arranged as a horizontal band of glass between the brick walls and the roof eave. Metal glutters, painted white, drain water from the flat roof, but also serve like pilasters, separating the bands of windows. A double-metal door entrance is centered on the addition. A metal covered walkway extends from the entrance to the street sidewalk.
The yard beside the addition to the street is now a grassed playground, and the
Object Description
Description
| Title | New Pilgrim Baptist Church 1 |
| Transcript | New Pilgrim Baptist Church 903 6th Avenue S, Birmingham AL Text and photos by Carroll Van West Description The historic New Pilgrim Baptist Church sits at a busy intersection southwest of the downtown business district in Birmingham, Alabama. Built in two stages, 1946 and 1959, the church blends a gable-front building in Contemporary Gothic styling of 1959 with the earlier 1946 red-brick corner tower building that had also exhibited Gothic styling. The north façade contains a high open-gable canopy that covers the entire façade and projects from the parapet line, supported by four slender square hollow metal posts that rise to the underside of the open roof. These towers are set back from the central north façade but project at the east and west elevations. The 1959 renovation further modernized the façade by creating three white stripes down its face by application of white plywood panels: the central and widest comprises the central paired double doors, which are now single-light glass in a wood frame; the metal-frame painted glass windows above; and the upper wall and the spandrel. There are narrower stripes of the same type on the tower-front bays, which contain single-door entries and smaller windows above them. An attenuated cross, rising to the gable peak, is attached to the façade, with the crossing above the upper windows. Central steps go up to the concrete porch. At the tower sides, the old round window heads peep out over the canopy roof slopes. The east elevation exhibits largely the wall of the 1946 red-brick church, but is obscured by an adjacent commercial business that has a one-story brick wall. The sanctuary nave is long under a single gabled roof, with metal-frame rectangular painted glass windows with lower hopper panels, separated by small shouldered buttresses that define the bays. Two of these buttresses decorate, but do not define the edges of, the towers. Between these on the east side of the tower is a single 6-over-6 wood sash window; another round-head one above is all but obscured by the gabled canopy roof. The south elevation is the rear section of the 1959 addition. It has two symmetrical bays, with metal-framed six-over-six slag glass painted blue windows. Between the windows on the first story and the second story is a concrete white panel and above the second story windows are concrete white panels in the top of which is a rectangular metal ventilation grille. The combination of rectangular panels and rectangular windows give this elevation a decided 1960s look. The west elevation is an one-story asphalt flat-roof administrative and classroom building that was attached from front to rear to the original west wall of the 1946 brick church. Metal-framed six-pane windows of slag glass painted blue are arranged as a horizontal band of glass between the brick walls and the roof eave. Metal glutters, painted white, drain water from the flat roof, but also serve like pilasters, separating the bands of windows. A double-metal door entrance is centered on the addition. A metal covered walkway extends from the entrance to the street sidewalk. The yard beside the addition to the street is now a grassed playground, and the |
