Identity area
Type of entity
Organization
Authorized form of name
Sixth Avenue Baptist Church
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Description area
Dates of existence
1904-2010
History
The Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, 2520 Sixth Avenue, occupied two different buildings at this site from 1904 until 2010. The church was organized May 21,1901 in a meeting of fifteen people held at Sixth Avenue and Anderson Street. With funding from the First Baptist Church they began holding services and hired a pastor. The first church building was constructed of wood at Sixth and Pine and dedicated February 7, 1904. By 1906 the membership totaled 168 and a Ladies’ Missionary Society had been organized (1).
By the early 1920s the need for a larger building was evident and plans for a new church were drawn up by the architectural firm Heath, Gove, & Bell (2). The former building was moved to the back of the lot for use as a community center and the new building was constructed with a Wilkeson sandstone exterior. Robert Walker, church member and president of the Walker Cut Stone Company donated the cost of the labor. The new building was dedicated April 12, 1925, and in 1926, a pipe organ was purchased from Sherman Clay Co. and installed.
By 1941, church membership had grown to 478. An additional building intended for education and Sunday School was first proposed in 1948. Fundraising and design began at that time, although ground was not broken until 1963, by which time the original wooden building had been demolished. The new wing was dedicated January 12, 1964 (3).
In the late 1960s, a need for revitalization was recognized and a young pastor was engaged. The church shared its space with different agencies such as Associated Ministries, the Food Bank, and Habitat for Humanity. An effort was made to engage UPS students and a non-denominational group of teenagers was organized, the J.C. Generation. Space was provided for Lamaze Group, Writer’s Club, and Delong Preschool (4). Nonetheless, membership declined by 50% between 1975 and 1985 to 164, as indicated by a congregational profile commissioned in the mid-1980s (4,5).
By 2009 attendance at Sunday service had dwindled to 25. The church building was put up for sale and the last service was held there January 31, 2010 (6,7).
As of this writing in 2023, the building houses a wedding venue business, Events on 6th (8). It also serves as home for the congregation Soma Tacoma (9).
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Written by Ruth Keller, 2023.
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
[1] “Some important dates and interesting items in the history of the SIXTH AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH”, Church History, Box 1, Collection.
[2] “Records #2”, Box 2, Collection.
[3] “Sixth Avenue Baptist Church”, Church History, Box 1, Collection.
[4] “Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, Impressions of a Decade,by Bob Elsberry”, Church History, Box 1, Collection.
[5] “Congregational Profile”, Church History, Box 1, Collection.
[6] “Sixth Avenue Church For Sale”, Tacoma News Tribune, 2/3/2009, p.B1
[7] “Newsletter”, January 24, 2010, Newsletters, Box 3, Collection
[8] Events on 6th. Accessed August 26,2003. https://eventson6th.com/.
[9] Soma Tacoma. Accessed August 26, 2023. https://www.somatacoma.org/.