“During the 1860s, Olivet Baptist Church was an active stop on the Underground Railroad, helping escaped slaves with food and a warm place to stay.

“Olivet, the second-oldest Black church in Chicago, has stood at 3101 S. Martin Luther King Drive for a century and once housed thousands of members each Sunday. The congregation has shrunk to about 100 consistent members.

“Now, Pastor John L. Smith hopes to bring new life to Olivet with a $157 million development that would include 366 mostly low-income apartments, a day care center, a food pantry, a workforce development incubator and a health and wellness clinic, all on land adjacent to the church in the Bronzeville neighborhood.

“‘Our goal is to show everyone that Olivet is still a very vibrant and alive community and that we have a vision for our community that will make it better,’ Smith said. ‘Our goal is to do what our ancestors did in the 20th century, but do it in a different way, in providing housing, in meeting the social and civic needs of the residents of Bronzeville.’

“Under the plans, no more than 20% of Trinity Square’s apartments would be priced at market rate, which would make the project by far one of the largest affordable housing developments in Chicago in years.

“Founded in 1850, it is the second-oldest African American congregation in the city. Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, founded in 1844, is the oldest.

“‘Olivet is one of the seminal churches that has been in Chicago pretty much since Black people have been in Chicago,’ Smith said. ‘When you look at Olivet’s history, we have always been not only for spiritual progress, but also social progress for Black people.’

“Olivet reached 12,000 members in the 1930s and became a social hub for those migrating from the South. (Rush, Chicago Sun-Times, 4/29/25)

Olivet Baptist Church is a Preservation Chicago 2025 Chicago 7 Most Endangered. Due to a dwindling congregations, the large main church has not been actively used for an extensive period. Despite its storied history and architectural pedigree, the property is not formally recognized as a historic landmark by either the City of Chicago or National Park Service. A sensitive, but pragmatic, rehabilitation would bring the church back to its full operation and allow this Chicago institution to remain standing. We support restoring and incorporating the historic church building into a new development that would bring housing, vibrancy and resources to the community.

Olivet Baptist Church is the oldest extant African American Baptist church building, and the second oldest African American church congregation, in the city of Chicago. Located in the Bronzeville/Douglas neighborhood and near the Lake Meadows housing development, Olivet has a legacy of prominent Black leadership stretching back to the 19th century.

Many of the congregation’s pastors have been influential at various political levels, including during the National Baptist Convention and the 20th century Civil Rights Movement. During the Chicago Race Riots of 1919, the church fought to maintain peace, and later served as a community center during the 1920s, as the Great Migration brought an influx of African Americans from the South, to many northern cities, including Chicago.

In 1918, Olivet Baptist Church purchased the Gothic Revival church at 3101 S. King Drive. It was originally built for First Baptist Church of Chicago in 1876 by the early Chicago architecture firm Wilcox and Miller. Following the death in 1990 of Joseph H. Jackson, who served as pastor for nearly fifty years, the church struggled to maintain its stature in Chicago’s African American community. In recent decades, the number of parishioners has declined significantly and portions of the church are effectively closed due to deferred maintenance.

Read the full story at Chicago Sun-Times

• From Underground Railroad to real estate developer: Olivet Baptist Church plans rebirth after 175 years, A 366-unit affordable apartment development called Trinity Square, estimated to cost $157 million, is planned next to the historic Bronzeville church, Mariah Rush, Chicago Sun-Times, 4/29/25
• Historic Bronzeville church proposes big affordable housing development, Rachel Herzog, Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/7/25
• Mixed-use development planned around Olivet Baptist Church, The project is part of the church’s rebirth at 3101 S. King Drive, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 4/20/25
• Olivet Baptist Church, a 2025 Chicago 7 Most Endangered