2843 Washington Avenue

Central Baptist Church, the fourth oldest black church in St Louis, organized as the Second Colored Baptist Church in 1846/ The Reverend John Richard Anderson petitioned for a letter of dismissal from the First African Baptist Church in June of that year, and by August he and about 20 others had formed the new congregation. They originally met in a hall near 3rd Street and Franklin Avenue (formerly Cherry Street). Over the years the church has been known by several names: 8th Street Colored Baptist Church, Green Street Baptist Church, and finally Central Baptist Church. In 1914 the congregation purchased the former Pilgrim Congregational Church where the distinguished minister and orator, Henry Ward Beecher, once preached. In March 1971, the church was destroyed by fire, but within four years the congregation had rebuilt its sanctuary and also bought the educational building across the street.