Interior view of the African Meeting House, Boston, Mass., undated

Description

The pulpit, pews and balcony seats are shown in this image of the African Meeting House, located on Smith Court on Beacon Hill in Boston. The Meeting House was built in 1806 and is the oldest African meeting house in the United States. The building was built with funds raised by local Black and white community members, but was constructed almost entirely with Black labor.

At the time of this photograph, the African Meeting House had become the home of Congregation Libavitz. Though the pews in the photograph are the original pews, the pulpit was no longer original to the building. "At the end of the 19th century, when the Black community began to migrate from the West End to the South End and Roxbury, the building was sold to a Jewish congregation. It served as a synagogue until it was acquired by the Museum of African American History in 1972" (Museum of African American History website). For more information, see Old Time New England July 1942, v.33, no. 1, serial no. 109.