St. Mark AME Zion

This church at the corner of Ross Avenue and Center Street (807 Ross Avenue) was built in 1901 to be the home for St. Paul's Lutheran congregation. In 1913 the congregation of St. Paul's worshiped in the nearby Calvary Lutheran Church while St. Paul's raised their entire building to install a usable basement space. The two congregations tried to merge in 1915 but were hampered by a clause in their by-laws which prohibited the sale of the Ross Avenue structure. In 1919, when the entire Lutheran Synod effected a merger St. Paul's was able to merge with Calvary Lutheran and this building was sold to the YWCA. In 1946 the YWCA had moved to another location on Ross Avenue and the church structure was sold to the Wesleyan Methodist church. In 1988 it was purchased by St. Mark AME Zion Church.