This African-American congregation’s selection of an architect, Charles F. Wilcox, to design their house of worship is a singular occurrence in Providence. The format was familiar by the time this was built: corner tower on an end-gable building with lots of round-arch detail in the tower and on the façade. But the familiarity of the architectural expression is far exceeded by the strong presence on the street and the neighborhood. What a powerful statement in the mid-1870s, during one of the state’s worst economic downturns, for a group largely disenfranchised in most arenas to make. This remains a historical landmark in Providence’s African-American community.
– 2003 Guide to Providence Architecture
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