ame-zion-church-favor-street-rochester-05A Rochester theater company, the Bread and Water Theatre group, is hoping to buy and revitalize an historic church in the Corn Hill neighborhood.

The church, now owned by the Greater Bethlehem Temple, was originally built by the African Methodist Episcopalian Zion Church in 1831. Located on Favor St., the church was a stop on Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad. Frederick Douglass also used the building to print his anti-slavery papers, the North Star.

The original structure was replaced in 1879 with the church that stands today. Susan B. Anthony, according to the church’s website, gave one of her last public addresses in the church.”

Not only is the site important to Rochester’s history, it is a place of national significance. The AME Zion Church is officially listed as a City of Rochester Landmark. This designation provides some protections against demolition or, “unsympathetic alterations to the exterior of the building.” While not having the full power of a national historic building, which it should, the structure is protected.
The church is about 6100 square feet and carries an asking price of $500,000. Curiously, the AME Zion congregation still exists in Rochester and is located on Clarissa Street. They left the building when it was slated for demolition to permit the Inner Loop to be built. The city changed their plan and the structure was saved. However, it lay abandoned for several years.

Now the theater group, headed by J.R. Teeter would like to purchase the building and convert it into, “a community cultural center equipped with a theater, art gallery and organic gardens.”

In a statement earlier this week, Teeter said the idea is to, “adapt it for use as a community cultural center equipped with a theatre, art gallery and organic gardens.” Teeter said the plan is to open the structure and make it available to a wide variety of uses by people in the community. “We believe that this building is vital to the history of Rochester and our goal is to preserve it using its bricks and mortar to help uplift a community and honor the legacies of Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and Harriet Tubman whose histories are all part of the legacy of this building.”

The plan has considerable obstacles to overcome, the most important of which is to raise sufficient cash for a down payment. The group will be undertaking fund raising and you can contribute at:
Bread and Water Theatre: Donate

You can learn more about their plans at: Bread & Thread Theater Group and their campaign at FB: B&T campaign
This article was based on our information from our friends at Rochester Subway. And a BIG HUGE shout-out to the infamous Susan B. Anthony for alerting us about the project in the first place!

Learn about the City of Rochester Landmarks.

Above photo of church courtesy of Rochester Subway.