Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church (Metropolitan AME Church) is a historic church located at 1518 M Street

M Street (Washington, D.C.)

The name "M Street" refers to two major roads in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. Because of the Cartesian-coordinate-based street-naming system in Washington, the name M Street can be used to refer to any east-west street located twelve blocks north or south of the dome of the United...

, N.W., in downtown Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

The congregation was founded in 1838 and the current building was constructed in 1886. The funerals of abolitionist Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...

 (1895), the first African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 U.S. Senator, Blanche Bruce

Blanche Bruce

Blanche Kelso Bruce was a U.S. politician who represented Mississippi as a Republican in the U.S. Senate from 1875 to 1881 and was the first elected African-American senator to serve a full term. Hiram R. Revels, also of Mississippi, was the first to ever serve in the U.S...

 (1898), and civil-rights activist Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....

 (2005) were held in the church. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1973. In May 2010, the National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...

 added the building to its list of 11 of America's Most Endangered Places

America's Most Endangered Places

Each year since 1987, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has released a list of places they consider the most endangered in America. The number of sites included on the list has varied, with the most recent lists settling on 11...

 due to water damage and other structural problems requiring $11 million in renovations.

External links

• Official website
• Photo gallery by The Washington Post
  The Washington Post
  The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...