“Morning Star Baptist Church is on its way to becoming a Chicago landmark.

“The 113-year-old building got approved for preliminary landmark status from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks last month, which found that the church’s exemplary architecture and history meets its criteria for designation. The city’s Department of Planning and Development gave the designation the go-ahead last week, having found that the proposed designation supports the city’s overall planning goals for the surrounding Grand Boulevard neighborhood.

“The church ‘stands as a testament to the resilience, faith, and cultural contributions of the city’s African American community,’ the commission’s report reads.

“The congregation was founded in 1917 by Reverend Edmund D. Hubbard. At the time, the 21-member church was primarily made up of Black Southerners who traveled to Chicago as part of the Great Migration.

“In 1963, the church underwent another round of renovations by the Black-owned architectural firm Hunter, Konn & Duster and Associates, who reshaped the building in a modernist style. The firm designed the church’s steel structure, structural piers hewn from Indiana limestone and series of four green, blue and white geometric-patterned arched dalle de verre stained-glass windows. Inside, the church sanctuary and vestibule received modern finishes of pale-blue glazed brick, mosaic tile and varnished hardwood paneling – architectural elements it remains known for today.

“The landmark commission report calls the building a ‘unique example of adaptive reuse in ecclesiastical architecture from the 1930s.’

“Kathy Mitchell, a former congregation member, nominated the church for a landmark designation in September 2023. Sites can be recommended for a landmark designation by members of the public, civic groups, or by staff members from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. The initial recommendation is usually followed by a commission staff report and a preliminary recommendation of eligibility.” (Anastasakos, Hyde Park Herald, 2/17/25)

Read the full story at Hyde Park Herald

• Bronzeville’s Morning Star Baptist Church gets preliminary landmark status, Evgenia Anastasakos, Hyde Park Herald, 2/17/25
• Morning Star Baptist Church of Chicago receives preliminary landmark; The church at 3993 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Drive was built in 1912, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 2/2/25