St. Paul's Union American Methodist Episcopal Church

Imposing, yet simple, St. Paul’s Union American Methodist Church is a noticeably present structure in its urban environment. The brown stone exterior calls back to an Italianate style and though it appears simple, when examined up close, the archways and corner pieces are detailed with lines and insets. White window frames and red doors stand out in contrast to the brown building. The stone and window frames are weathered, attesting to this building’s long history. 

According to the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, between 1901 and 1924 an addition was built on the back of the building, which included spaces for Sunday School rooms and a gymnasium^4,5. Furthermore, between this period, the height of the spires was reduced and the clock tower removed. The site changes ownership again in 1949 and by 1973, the owners had bought and demolished the houses around the back of the church to create space for parking⁶.The current parish acquired the church in 1976⁷.

In 1837, a congregation called the New Haven City Missionary Society was formed from the existing congregations of three other churches in the city. By 1870, noticing that the city was growing westward and in what appeared to be an effort to “cleanse” the Dwight area of vice⁸, the Society renamed itself Dwight Place Church (named for the block on which their new church would be built) and commissioned one of the foremost New Haven architects of his time, David R. Brown, to build them a new place of worship. The church was unique at the time of its construction because the materials used, essentially poured concrete shaped as stone, were an innovation. In 1949, Dwight Place Church merged with Plymouth Congregational Church to form Edgewood Congregational Church, which made its home in the Dwight Place Church’s building. Edgewood renovated the building, and removed the once iconic spires from the building in a 1952 renovation. After Edgewood merged with Center Church on the Green, the building stood vacant until 1976, when St. Paul’s, the current owner, took possession⁷. St. Paul’s Union American Methodist Episcopal Church is unique in that the U.A.M.E Church was the first church to be started in America and led exclusively by African-Americans¹.

The Church is set within a mixed residential and commercial area. There are multiple apartment buildings in the area with two occupying adjacent corners to the church. There are also some local businesses scattered around the area as well such as a dry cleaner and a funeral home. On a given cloudy morning, the area was quiet and the colors of the buildings popped, but being at the intersection of Chapel and Dwight streets, there was moderate traffic. The trees on the street were bare because of the winter, but one would expect that once spring comes, they will be lush and green, offering shade along the side of the church.