City of Santa Barbara Planning Division Memorandum MEETING DATE: July 8, 2020 TO: Historic Landmarks Commission FROM: Nicole Hernandez, City Urban Historian SUBJECT: St. Paul’s AME Church, HLC Landmark Recommendation to City Council Purpose: The purpose of this Memorandum is to provide a brief overview of the information to be presented in the attached City Landmark designation nomination: Background: In its meeting on July 11, 2018, the HLC Designation Sub-Committee directed staff to pursue the Landmark Designation of the architecturally and historically significant, African American, St. Paul’s AME Church at 502 Olive Street, that the Historic Landmarks Commission added to the Potential Historic Resource List in 1990. Nicole Hernandez, Staff Urban Historian, sent a letter to St. Paul’s AME Church on March 15, 2019, notifying the Church that the building is both architecturally and historically significant to the City of Santa Barbara and qualifies for City Landmark designation. In May of 2019, Nicole Hernandez met with the Church leadership to discuss the details of a Landmark designation. The church took the information to the larger AME District for support of the designation. Attached to this memo and nomination is the letter of support of the Landmark designation by Presiding Bishop of the Fifth District AME Church. The nomination prepared on the California State Department of Parks and Recreation Form by Robert Ooley with the assistance of Architectural Historians: Mary Louise Days, Hattie Beresford, and Mike Imwalle, with additional Support by Nicole Hernandez, Urban Historian, Anne Petersen SBTHP, and St. Paul AME Church Representatives, outlines in detail, how the church meets five of the criteria outlined in the Santa Barbara Municipal Code to qualify for Landmark designation. City of Santa Barbara Landmark Nomination St. Paul’s AME Church 502 Olive Street, Santa Barbara, CA June 19, 2020i Contents Abstract, 2 Primary Record, 2 Pages Location Map, 1 Page Building, Structure, and Objects Record, 14 Pages Continuation Sheet – History/Founding of AME, 1 Page Continuation Sheet – Timeline of AME Church, 7 Pages Continuation Sheet – Deceased Members of St. Paul 1902-2003, 2 Pages Continuation Sheet – Oil on Masonite Mural, 2 Pages Sketch Map-Site Plan, 1 Page Sketch Map – Ground Floor Plan, 1 Page Sketch Map – Church Exterior Elevations, 3 Pages Sketch Map – Parsonage Exterior Elevations, 2 Pages Sketch Map – Composite Site Plan, 1 Page Sketch Map – 1930 Sanborn Map, 1 Page Photographic Record, 9 Pages Abstract No single institution was of greater importance to the social history of African Americans than the church. Founding churches gave black people some of their first experiences in organizing their own institutions after emancipation. Among the first of the community’s African American churches organized in Santa Barbara was St. Paul’s AME, founded in 1903. Methodist and Baptist continued to be the most prevalent denominations among African Americans. After meeting in houses and temporary locations, the St. Paul’s AME congregation constructed the 1916 one-story Carpenter’s Gothic style church at 502 Olive Street. The Saint Paul AME Church located in Santa Barbara California is eligible for listing at the local level as a City Landmark under Criterion lc.A, lc.C, lc.D, lc.I, and lc.K as it is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of the community’s heritage. It meets the registration requirements for churches outlined in the Multiple Property Documentation (MPD)ii Form for Historic Resources Associated with African Americans in the United Statesiii. It is significant at the local level in the context of community development. Constructed in 1916, the St. Paul’s AME Church is significant as the home of one of the oldest and most prominent African American congregations in Santa Barbara. It satisfies Criteria Consideration A for religious properties as it derives its primary significance from its historical importance to the African American community. The St. Paul’s AME Church is the oldest of the six predominantly African American churches scattered throughout the city that contribute to a unique architectural and spiritual heritage. There is a rich uncelebrated tapestry of African American culture interwoven into the fabric of the American Riviera. St. Paul’s AME was well connected to the black church in Los Angeles and nationally, taking a leadership role locally in the Western AME Conference and evincing an ability to draw nationally known ministers. A good example was the arrival of Dr. H.B. Parks, Presiding Bishop who had charge over the AME work in California. A dynamic preacher, Parks was on hand to help dedicate the newly completed church on September 1, 1916. By the time St. Paul’s had enough funds to build a new edifice, they decided it should be located on the same site as the little wood framed building constructed in 1906 by the father of a member, N. F. Hill. The original building cost the church’s congregation $700 and it could seat a modest 50 people for public and private meetings – less than .01% of Santa Barbara’s population at the time. In 1916, though the congregation had grown, funds were limited, as they could not afford to hire an architect and renowned local architects did not offer to provide services for free. This helped to lead the congregation to choose Carpenter’s Gothic as a style from which to build as it could be done easily at a modest cost of $3,500. Still a great sum of money for a small poor church, which was raised by the efforts of the congregation from offering chicken dinners, bake sales and direct appeals to the community at large. The church’s legacy has left a moral imprint on the surrounding neighborhood of the lower east side. As Santa Barbara has a history of being the first, the first to start Earth Day as an example, there were many “firsts” in the black community. The story of Jerry Forney is folklore and told often. He was said to have participated in the Centennial Parade celebrating 100 Years of Nations founding that took place in Santa Barbara in 1876. Apparently, he rode a mule draped in an American Flag and waring unlocked shackles indicating that black people were now free of slavery. Members of the congregation fought restrictive housing covenants and racial discrimination in many forms from public beaches, swimming pools, and restaurants. Members of the congregation were active in the NAACP and helped to raise Legal Defense Funds to pay for the printing of the briefs used in the arguments before the United States Supreme Court in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case that desegregated public schools. There were also first in most white dominated professions: police, banking, medicine, education, legal defense and social work. All make the fabric of the Santa Barbara Community and its heritage a much more compelling experience. Although the building is not the work of an architect, famous or otherwise, it is eligible under Criterion lc.C. There are few Carpenter’s Gothic structures standing in the Santa Barbara. These types of buildings are simply framed structures, clad in simply available materials, and adored with light gothic detailing. Notwithstanding that the building has experienced minor alterations on the exterior, primarily the cross members of the minor gables; these modifications are reversable under a restoration project. These modifications were more likely the result of deteriorating materials rather than a determined effort to change the aesthetic of the church. This grossly overdue and well-deserved nomination is the combined work of those listed in Section B14 (below). Over the course of 10 days, this nomination was written, researched, fact checked, and review for copy editing. We have tried our very best to: a) learn the story, struggles and challenges of the congregation that created this church; b) to under its importance within the family of architectural heritage of our community; c) to understand its importance to the African American Community and how this church has been a stalwart symbol of hope, joy and community to them for over 117 years; and d) to tell their story to our broader community of whom may not know the importance of this humble Carpenter Gothic Church on our lower east side. We humbly submit this nomination for consideration of being designated a City of Santa Barbara Historic Landmark and will continue on in efforts to get it listed on the National Register of Historic Places of the United States. As we firmly believe this site and the African American Community of Santa Barbara have made significant contributions to the development of our history and heritage here in Santa Barbara and in the Nation. i This date was purposely selected as it represents the Independence Day of the African American Community. ii Page 3, National Parks Service, National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Requirements. iii Page 3, A standard used to evaluate church nominations not associated to their religious nature. State of California Natural Resources Agency Primary # _ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial NRHP Status Code Other Listings Review Code Reviewer Date Page of *Resource Name or #: (Assigned by recorder) P1. Other Identifier: *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County and (P2c, P2e, and P2b or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.) *b. USGS 7.5' Quad Date T ; R ; of of Sec ; B.M. c. Address City Zip d. UTM: (Give more than one for large and/or linear resources) Zone , mE/ mN e. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, decimal degrees, etc., as appropriate) *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements.