Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Hartford

The Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, located on Main Street in Hartford’s North End, is the city’s oldest Black Methodist congregation, with roots stretching back to 1833. It was born from a split in Hartford’s first African American church, which also gave rise to today’s Faith Congregational Church. Over time, the Metropolitan congregation worshipped at various sites-first on Elm Street (a location later absorbed into Bushnell Park), then Pearl Street-before settling into its current home in 1926.

The building itself is a striking High Victorian Gothic structure, originally constructed in 1873–74 for a white Methodist Episcopal congregation. This group moved out in 1919, and the building was briefly owned and used as a synagogue by Emmanuel Synagogue. In 1926, it was purchased by the Metropolitan A.M.E. Zion Church.

Architecturally, the church stands out with its robust brickwork, stone trim, and dramatic Gothic pointed arch windows. A prominent gabled facade faces Main Street, flanked by twin entrances, the left one crowned by a tall, buttressed tower with a belfry and steeple. Stone bands (beltcourses) divide the structure into its distinct levels, adding visual rhythm to the facade.

In 1994, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places, recognized not only for its architectural merit but also for its deep cultural and historical significance within Hartford’s African American community.