Temple Baptist Church – King Solomon Baptist Church, Civil rights movement church complex in Northwest Goldberg, Detroit, United States.
The Temple Baptist Church - King Solomon Baptist Church is a religious complex located at Fourteenth and Marquette Avenue consisting of two distinct structures. One building displays Tudor Revival features from an earlier era, while the main auditorium showcases Art Deco design and could accommodate thousands of worshippers.
The first building opened in 1917 as the Fourteenth Avenue Baptist Church, founded by a society dating to 1892; in 1921 that society merged with Grand River Avenue Baptist Church to form Temple Baptist Church. J. Frank Norris became pastor in 1934, commuting by plane from Fort Worth, Texas. King Solomon Baptist Church, founded in 1926, bought the buildings in 1951.
King Solomon Baptist Church, founded in 1926, bought the Temple Baptist buildings in 1951. The congregation joined the Progressive National Baptist Convention early and hosted that body's second annual conference. Malcolm X delivered his 1963 "Message to the Grass Roots" address in the Main Auditorium, and Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph D. Abernathy and Benjamin Mays also spoke here.
The complex sits in northwest Detroit at an easily recognized corner location in the city. Visitors should know that this remains an active gathering space, and visiting times or tours may need to be arranged in advance.
The Main Auditorium, built in 1937, seats over 5,000 people and was the largest African American-owned auditorium in Detroit when King Solomon Baptist Church bought the complex in 1951. It hosted Malcolm X's 1963 "Message to the Grass Roots" address, along with talks by Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph D. Abernathy and Benjamin Mays.
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