Sometime yesterday afternnon around 3:15 p.m., the attorneys with south facing offices noticed a large fire engulfing a structure. The flames were vibrant oranges and reds and were gaining in size. It took a while to find any news, but as WMBI gave a traffic report, they identified the structure as the Pilgrim Baptist Church located at 33rd and Indiana in Chicago's historic Bronzeville neighborhood. The building is a complete loss. This is a significant loss for the history of our city.
Pilgrim Baptist Church was designed by the renowned Louis Sullivan and his partner Adler. It originally was home to a Jewish temple, but Pilgrim purchased the building in the early 1920's. Pilgrim was the place where Thomas Dorsey introduced the world to Gospel music. The walls witnessed many greats: Mahalia Jackson sang inside; Aretha Franklin's father taught music there; the funeral for boxer Jack Johnson was held there; and Dr. King also spoke at Pilgrim.
It is a sad day not only for the members of Pilgrim, but for their brothers and sisters around the world.
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