Ebenezer Methodist Church - Overtown Performing Arts Center
“The Ebenezer Methodist Church, originally called the Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church, was founded in August 1898, and by 1907 was one of six active religious organizations in the Overtown community. Construction on the current church, the third site for the congregation, began in 1947. Ebenezer Methodist Church is an excellent example of a twentieth-century adaptation of the Gothic Revival style. The stylized front façade includes a recessed entry and the sides of the church feature large arched windows, important adaptations of the Gothic Revival style for the South Florida climate. The church has served as an important meeting place for the Overtown community throughout its history, and the congregation has provided important humanitarian and social services.” Excerpt from the Miami Affordability Project Historic Properties Dataset, prepared by UM Office of Civic and Community Engagement.
The Church building is now the Overtown Performing Arts Center, a welcoming place operated by the CRA, where you can attend a wide variety of special events and performances.
Source: https://goingovertown.org/listing/ebenezer-methodist-church/
Dunns Josephine Hotel
The Dunns Hotel and Josephine Hotel consisted of two separate buildings, and are some of the few remaining hotels in the area from the early and middle twentieth century. The Josephine Hotel was built in 1938 and the Dunns Hotel in 1947. During segregation, hotels in Overtown would serve black entertainers barred from receiving accommodation in Miami Beach.
The Josephine and Dunns Hotel was renovated into the Dunns Josephine boutique hotel with funding from the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency. Dunns-Josephine Hotel Founder Kristin Kitchen, after nearly twenty years in the hospitality industry focusing on the bed and breakfast segment, asked herself “Was it possible to create a brand of bed and breakfast boutique hotels that combined the amenities of a 1st class hotel and the intimacies of a Bed and Breakfast?”
Source: https://goingovertown.org/listing/dunns-josephine-hotel/
Jackson’s Soul Food
Mrs. Jessie E. Jackson and husband Demas Jackson birthed what has become a multi-faceted legacy in 1946. The Jacksons established Mama’s Cafe, a comfort style soul food restaurant that thrived in the Overtown community, and served as the foundation for a lineage of first-class establishments. One of the couple’s 12 children, Shirlene Jackson Ingraham, propelled the family legacy at the renowned Jackson Soul Food restaurant located at 950 NW 3rd Avenue, and a second location at 14511 NW 27th Avenue, where local, national and international visitors flock to savor traditional soul food culinary delights.
Source: https://goingovertown.org/listing/jackson-soul-food-2/
New Providence Lodge #365
When the City of Miami was incorporated in 1896, groups of black masons living in the Colored Town/Overtown area had to travel to the Coconut Grove Lodge for regular meetings. Since the lodge meetings were normally held in the late evenings it was difficult for working class blacks from Colored Town/Overtown to attend. At that time, blacks were not allowed to travel in and through the white areas of Miami without a special pass or work permit.
In 1901, a group of members from the Colored Town/Overtown area petitioned the Grand Lodge of the State of Florida finally honored that petition, extended the members a charter, and the group became the New Providence Lodge #365. Reverend A. J. Taylor served as the first Worshipful Master of the newly chartered lodge. The first meetings were held in the Love and Charity Building at Northwest Third Avenue and Eleventh Street.
Believing that they could serve community residents better with their own building, they purchased a piece of property on Northwest Third Avenue and Ninth Street in 1947, and began working towards their goal. Like many of the original structures in the Colored Town/Overtown area, the Lodge was built in the evenings. Members would meet after work to help with the construction. That same year they completed construction and named the building New Providence Lodge Temple #365. The temple was dedicated in 1954 and the structure still stands today at 941 NW 3rd Avenue. It is the second oldest temple in Dade County, and the first to be built by its own members.
Excerpt from the AT&T Miami-Dade County African-American History Calendar 2005/2006.
Source: https://goingovertown.org/listing/new-providence-lodge/
Historic Mount Zion Church
Excerpt from the Miami Affordability Project Historic Properties Dataset, prepared by UM Office of Civic and Community Engagement:
“Construction of the present church building began in 1928 and took thirteen years to complete. Reverend J.R. Evans, one of the most prominent religious leaders of Overtown, oversaw construction. Mt. Zion is one of the few examples of Mediterranean Revival style architecture in Overtown. As with many other historical properties in this area, its design is also significant because of the ways planners adapted this style to the local environment by incorporating high ceilings and porches. The church was significantly impacted by the construction of Interstate 95 in the 1960s, when a portion of the church was acquired to build an entrance ramp. The congregation of Mt. Zion Baptist Church remains an active part of the community today.”
The Church was one of the first meeting places for the Boys and Girls Scouts as well as civil rights movement leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Source: https://goingovertown.org/listing/mt-zion-historic-baptist-church/
The Historic Lyric Theater
Founded and constructed by Georgia native, Geder Walker in 1913, the Lyric was a popular spot for concerts, movies, vaudeville, dramas, political meetings, boxing, rallies, beauty pageants, and school plays. In the 1930s and 1940s, the theater was the major component of NW 2nd Avenue’s “Little Broadway” entertainment district and contributed to Overtown’s reputation as the “Harlem of the South.” The stage has welcomed a star-studded list of cultural icons including W.E.B. Dubois, Marian Anderson, Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, and Whitney Houston.
The Black Archives acquired the Lyric Theater in 1988, and renamed it the Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater Cultural Arts Complex. The Lyric Theater was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It is now the oldest legitimate theater in Miami. The Black Archives hosts a variety of cultural and art experiences at the Lyric, including neighborhood tours and the monthly Lyric Live local talent showcase. Contact The Black Archives at (786) 708-4610 for rates and availability for tours and events.
Source: https://goingovertown.org/listing/historic-lyric-theatre/
International Longshoreman Association
In 1936, Miami-Dade County dock workers were the lowest paid longshoremen in the country, receiving 35 cents an hour and nothing for overtime. Judge Henderson encouraged 10 men to contribute $1.75 to apply for the inaugural charter in the International Longshoreman’s Association in Miami. After receiving the ILA Charter, the longshoremen were able to obtain a contract providing for a 5 cent per hour raise and overtime after ten hours of work at the rate of 10 cent per hour. Besides becoming an effective collective bargaining group, the union formed by these Black pioneers under the guidance and leadership of Judge Henderson branched into other fields of civic and social enlightenment. Currently, the local ILA provides job opportunities for over 2,000 longshoremen a year, who “pledge allegiance to always work toward the advancement of all those who desire to labor for their families and community.”
Source: https://goingovertown.org/listing/international-longshoremans-association/
Greater Bethel African Methodist Church
As one of the oldest churches in Miami, the Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church has seen more than a century of prominent Black residents pass through its doors. The congregation organized in 1896, two years before the city was incorporated, and began construction on the building in 1927. The church’s distinct architectural style and stained glass windows took 16 years to complete, and make it impossible to miss this icon of Overtown. Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Source: https://goingovertown.org/listing/greater-bethel-ame-church/
Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com