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• Collection: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey

• Title: South Elyton Baptist Church, 102 First Street, South, Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL
• Other Title: Birmingham Industrial District
• Creator(s): Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
• Related Names:
     Rayfield, Wallace A
     Price, Virginia Barrett , transmitter
     Birmingham Historical Society , contractor
     Dennis, Christopher , field team
     Howell, Brenda , field team
     Jones, Bill , field team
     Slaughter, Carol , field team
     Hamilton, Amy , field team
     Anderson, Richard K , delineator
     White, Marjorie L , historian
• Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 1933
• Medium: Photo(s): 9
  Measured Drawing(s): 1
  Photo Caption Page(s): 1
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
  
• Call Number: HABS ALA,37-BIRM,34-
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Notes:
  • Significance: Established in 1914, the South Elyton Baptist Church located in Titusvulle, a growing and densely populated residential community south of Elyton, the county seat of Jefferson County from 1819 until the founding of Birmingham in the 1870s. Titusville extends from tracks to tracks, from Southside to Mason City and Elyton to Green Springs and the red ore mines along Red Mountain. South Elyton Baptist Church chose a site along First Street, a major thoroughfare, on Lots 1 & 2 in Block 1 of the Session Land Company's subdivision of the Walker Land Co.'s Addition to Birmingham. Construction for the historic sanctuary began in the late 1920s when church member Mr. Walton, his mule and scaper began excavation of the basement. Prominent African-American architect Wallace A. Rayfield provided the plans. His residence, a social hub of the community, faced the site across First Street. Rayfield's plans guided these do-it-yourself church members, children of the founders who built the church from 1940 to 1947. Home-cooked dinners and several mortgages financed this construction. The church incorporated in April 1958. During the 1960s, it hosted meetings of the Birmingham-based civil rights organization, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. Since completion of the wonderfully compatible "walk-in" addition in 1989, the historic sanctuary continues serving as an educational facility for the church and a community center hosting meetings for the neighborhood, scouts, and civic and voter leagues. Church leaders, described by their descendants who remain church members, were "general doers" who worked "big jobs" and sometimes two jobs daily. These jobs were with "TC and I, the railroads and the mines." Alpha Portland Cement in nearby Powderly was another employer. Many bricklayers and carpenters also belonged to the congregation. Women leaders taught school.
  • Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N785
  • Survey number: HABS AL-983
  • Building/structure dates: 1940-1947 Initial Construction
  • Building/structure dates: 1989 Subsequent Work
• Subjects:
  • Baptist churches
  • brick buildings
  • religions
  • civil rights
  • African Americans
• Place:
  • Alabama -- Jefferson County -- Birmingham
• Latitude/Longitude: 33.52056, -86.8025
• Collections:
  • Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
• Part of: Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)
• Bookmark This Record:
     http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/al1214/

Rights assessment is your responsibility.

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For further rights information, see "Rights Information" below and the Rights and Restrictions Information page ( http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/rights.html ).

• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Call Number: HABS ALA,37-BIRM,34-
• Medium: Photo(s): 9
  Measured Drawing(s): 1
  Photo Caption Page(s): 1

Rights assessment is your responsibility.

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

• Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
• Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
• If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
• Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
• Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
• If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
• Data Pages
• Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

• Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
• P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
• Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
• You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
• Make note of the Call Number listed above.
• Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
• The entire group can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.
• All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

• Call Number: HABS ALA,37-BIRM,34-
• Medium: Photo(s): 9
  Measured Drawing(s): 1
  Photo Caption Page(s): 1

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

   • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.

     As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)

   • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

   • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.

   • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.

3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.