Tremont Temple Baptist Church

Tremont Temple Baptist Church is a downtown Boston congregation with a notable place in American history. It was founded in 1839 as The Free Baptist Church after piano maker Timothy Gilbert left Charles Street Baptist Church, whose members objected when he invited a Black family to sit in his pew. Offering open seating without charge from the start, it became known as the first integrated church in America. Today it holds Sunday worship and fellowship ministries.

In 1843 Gilbert bought the Tremont Theater with his own money, and the church still meets on that site. Its halls hosted far more than services: Frederick Douglass and Sam Houston spoke against slavery there, an Egyptian mummy went on display in 1850, and Charles Dickens gave his first American reading of A Christmas Carol on its stage in 1867. The building survived major fires in 1852, 1879 and 1893.

What to Know

• The current building, designed by architect Clarence Blackall, was completed in 1896 under Reverend George C. Lorimer.
• The church settled on the name Tremont Temple Baptist Church in 1891 after earlier names, including Union Temple Baptist Church.
• Commercial rental space in the building helps fund the church and its tradition of free seating.
• Jaime Owens serves as senior pastor.