Morning Star Baptist Church

NOTICE: THIS SITE IS CLOSED AND WILL NOT BE PART OF OHC 2025. Founded in 1917 during the early wave of the Great Migration, Morning Star Baptist Church was an anchor for African Americans resettling in Chicago from the South. It exemplifies the critical role that religious institutions played in the history and development of Chicago's neighborhoods in the early to mid-20th century, particularly in supporting and sustaining African American communities. The church's building was completed in 1912 as a utilitarian auto repair and storage garage before being transformed in 1939 into a welcoming place of worship by architect Walter T. Bailey (the first licensed African American architect in Illinois). Thirty years later, another renovation was led by architects Radcliffe Hunter and Charles E. Duster, the latter a grandson of journalist Ida B. Wells. This renovation reworked the front facade into a Modernist design featuring piers that express the structure, smooth wall surfaces, an absence of historic ornament, and distinctive stained glass windows. In June 2025, Chicago City Council voted unanimously to grant the church protected landmark status.