Historic West End Church Seeks A Sympathetic Buyer

The former West End A.M.E. Zion Church at 623 S. Main Street in Elliott, is listed for sale.  Designed  in 1887 by the architecture firm, Longfellow, Alden & Harlow  as the West End United Methodist Church, the massive stone Romanesque church sits on a residential street close to the West End border. It has a slate gable roof and a cruciform plan. The gable ends on the north and east facades are dominated by semicircular arched leaded glass lunettes with ribbon windows beneath. The church’s other features include a northwest corner tower with a pyramid slate roof and arcaded open belfry and beneath it are a small stained glass sash and a signature stone. It has a wall turret in the west corner topped by a ball finial. The entrance-way is a large semicircular arch with a date stone above in a corner.

Awarded a PHLF Plaque in 1976, PHLF architectural historian Walter C. Kidney wrote in Pittsburgh’s Landmark Architecture, “[it] is a distinguished church in a hard-to-find place.”  In reality, it is only one block from West End’s historic main street. This building is a significant landmark worthy of saving and continued use.  Click here for more information on this property and its listing.