Criteria for Designation Saint James African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church meets criterion 1 as a landmark under section 599.210 of the Heritage Preservation Regulations. Further investigation may demonstrate that the building meets criterion 6. Due to the congregation s long historical significance, Saint James AME Church appears to meet criterion 1, the property is associated with significant events or periods that exemplify broad patterns of cultural, political, economic, or social history. Saint James AME traces its roots to a small group of African-Americans who met for prayer services at Paul Brown s house on 4 th Avenue SE and 2 nd Street SE as far back as 1860. 1 In 1863, members of the congregation formally organized into Saint James AME Church making it the first African American congregation in Minnesota. 2 This formation predates other notable early African American congregations in Minnesota including Saint Paul s Pilgrim Baptists and St. Mark s Episcopal by almost half a decade. 3 The church has since moved locations several times, migrating slowly southward within the city, where it is now located in the Howe neighborhood. The building was design by architect, Irwin H. Kilstofte and constructed by the contractor Carlson-Lavine. Kilstofte s firm, Kilstofte and Vosejpka, has notable commissions around Minnesota including the Skyway Plaza Office Building in Wayzata and the Northwestern National Bank of Litchfield. 4 Carlson- Lavine also constructed the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Building in 1958, which was locally designated in 2015. 5 Therefore, pending further investigation the site could meet criterion 6, the property exemplifies works of master builders, engineers, designers, artists, craftsman or architects. Statement of Applicant I am Reverend Michael Gonzalez. I am the current Reverend of Saint James AME of Minneapolis, at 3600 Snelling Avenue. I am interested in nominating this property as a local historic landmark. Integrity of Property Saint James AME Church retains integrity of location because it is the place where the current building was constructed. 6 This location, built in 1959, within the historically African American community along Snelling Avenue, is the longest permanent location the church has inhabited since its formation. Since starting in the basement of Paul Brown in Saint Anthony in 1860, Saint James AME Church has had many 1 Souvenir of the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of St. James A.M.E. Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Minneapolis: St. James A.M.E, 2013) 12. 2 Carol Zellie, Snelling Avenue, Minneapolis: Research on the History of the African American Community (Minneapolis: Hennepin Community Works, 2009) 8. 3 David Taylor, African Americans in Minnesota (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1945) 9, 11. 4 David Gebhard and Tom Martinson, A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977) 450. 5 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Designation Study, 2015, Files of the Heritage Preservation Commission, Community Planning and Economic Development Department, Minneapolis, MN 6 City of Minneapolis Building Permit #B362930, 3600 Snelling Avenue.

locations. 7 However, that does not detract from the church s integrity because it displays both the longevity of the church and the historical population migration of African Americans in the city. The exterior of St. James AME Church retains its integrity of design. Comparing the building s current physical features to the original architectural rendering of the building by Irwin H. Kilstofte and historical pictures of the building demonstrate the retention of most of the building s historical design features. Features that have been modified overtime, including the roof and the front doors, as well as the addition of an ADA accessible ramp, have not changed the underlying design of the church. While the roof shingles may have changed after being reroofed in 1974 and 1987, the roof maintains its essential design: 5 symmetrical exposed beams at the end of the low pitch gable roof and the wide eave overhang. The windows create visual rhythm on the building; framed by vertical accent lines. These lines continue around the building creating a rhythm and symmetry enclosing the entrances and windows of the building. Saint James AME Church retains integrity of setting. The surroundings mirror the original physical environment of its construction in the late 1950s; framed by the monumental remnants of milling structures and surrounded by the residential Howe neighborhood. The railroads, that once attracted African Americans to the neighborhood in search of work in the early 20 th century, remain between Hiawatha and Snelling in juxtaposition to the new Metro Blue Line. 8 Saint James AME Church retains integrity of materials. The most notable materials to have been changed are the roof and the front doors. However, these do not appear to have changed the material character. The railings in the front of the building are not historic and have been altered since the buildings construction. The rest of the materials (the windows, the front concrete stairway, the stucco and wood exterior) all appear to be original and mirror material trends of mid-century construction. Saint James AME Church retains the integrity of workmanship present in mid-century and post-world War II churches. The application and treatment of materials convey the period s affiliation towards mass production and lack of material embellishment. This is clearly seen in the workmanship found on the exterior of the building, where the building is decorated with a simple stucco veneer broken up with a minimalistic vertical wood treatment. Saint James AME Church retains integrity of feeling. Saint James AME Church expresses the aesthetics of places of worship from the mid-century. The church continues to serve the same community since the building was erected in 1959. Saint James AME Church retains strong integrity of association. Saint James AME Church has continued to function as a place of worship since its construction in 1959, and the congregation traces its long historical roots to the oldest African American Congregation in Minnesota. Settled in 1849, Saint 7 David Taylor African Americans in Minnesota (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1945) 18. 8 Carol Zellie, Snelling Avenue, Minneapolis: Research on the History of the African American Community (Minneapolis: Hennepin Community Works, 2009) 2.

Anthony became home to 8 families of freed African Americans from Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois by 1857. In 1860, a few African Americans wishing to worship as Methodists gathered at Paul Brown s home on 4 th Avenue SE. 9 This small group continued to meet in various homes in Saint Anthony until 1863, when they were able to formally organize as Saint James AME church. The church did not have a formal place of worship until 1869, where the congregation was able to rent a church that once belonged to a white congregation at 6 th Avenue SE and 2 nd Street SE. Forty years after the church s official formation, Saint James AME created a formal place of worship for their congregation when, in 1892, Saint James AME Church erected a red brick church at 4 th street and 8 th Avenue S. This property bordered the Rock Island Railroad, and was eventually crowded out for the railroad s expansion and has since been demolished. Over the next decade, St. James AME occupied various rented properties, until 1918 when they purchased a former synagogue at 314 15 th Avenue S. The congregation stayed at this location until they sold the property in 1956 and occupied space at the Pillsbury Settlement House. Saint James AME Church stayed at the Pillsbury House until they erected their current location in 1959. 10 Therefore, this church displays integrity of association, due not only to its connections to the church s historical roots, but also as the longest place of worship the church has inhabited and as the only existing property the church has constructed. 9 David Taylor, African Americans in Minnesota (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1945) 9. 10 Carol Zellie, Snelling Avenue, Minneapolis: Research on the History of the African American Community (Minneapolis: Hennepin Community Works, 2009) 8.

Works Cited City of Minneapolis Building Permit #B362930, 3600 Snelling Avenue. Gebhard, David and Tom Martinson. A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977. Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Designation Study, 2015, Files of the Heritage Preservation Commission, Community Planning and Economic Development Department, Minneapolis, MN. Souvenir of the Sesquicentennial Anniversary of St. James A.M.E. Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minneapolis: St. James A.M.E, 2013. Taylor, David. African Americans in Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1945. Taylor, David. The Blacks. In They Chose Minnesota: A Survey of the State's Ethnic Groups, edited by June Drenning Holmquist. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2004. Zellie, Carol. Snelling Avenue, Minneapolis: Research on the History of the African American Community. Minneapolis: Hennepin Community Works, 2009.

St. James AME Church site at 3600 Snelling Avenue, highlighted in purple

Saint James African Methodist Episcopal Church, 3600 Snelling Avenue, in relation to the surrounding neighborhood and its proximity to Hiawatha Avenue and the railroad lines

Saint James African Methodist Episcopal Church, 3600 Snelling Avenue, in relation to the surrounding neighborhood and its proximity to Hiawatha Avenue and the railroad lines

Front of St James AME facing Snelling Avenue Front of property displaying location at 3600 Snelling and the adjacent lot, 3604 Snelling, owned by the church for potential future development.

North side of Saint James AME as seen from 36th Street E., displaying the ADA accessible entrance that has since been added to the building The south side and west rear of Saint James AME

Interior of Saint James AME Interior of Saint James AME

Altar of Saint James AME