“The Abyssinian Meeting House is the bricks and mortar of African American history here in Maine.”
- Pamela Cummings, President of the Abyssinian Meeting House Restoration Project Board of Directors
AIA Maine is proud to partner with the Abyssinian Meeting House to present this upcoming program.
Please join us on Thursday, March 25th at 1:00 pm to hear the story of the restoration of Portland’s Abyssinian Meeting House from the perspective of:
Deborah Cummings Khadraoui - founder and current Board member of the Abyssinian Meeting House Restoration Project
John A James, Lead Architect for Phases One-Three
Greg Farmer, Project Historian
Martha Pinello, Project Archaeologist
About the Abyssinian Meeting House: The Abyssinian Meeting House was constructed by free blacks who came together to seek opportunity and refuge. The Meeting House became the cultural center of the community. Meetings, church services, concerts, a segregated public school, dinners and entertainment made the Abyssinian the center of political and social life which united the community throughout the 19th century. Its members and preachers included former enslaved people, leaders of the Underground Railroad movement and outspoken advocates for the abolition of slavery in the United States. The Meeting House closed in 1917 and was remodeled in 1924 as tenement apartments. Eventually, the City of Portland seized the building for unpaid taxes. The building sat vacant and deteriorating, nearly forgotten, until community leaders founded the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian and purchased the building in 1998 from the City.
You can learn more about the restoration and significance of this building with this video link.
This event is FREE.
Donations are encouraged.
All donations will be directed to the Abyssinian Meeting House Restoration Project.
AIA Maine was proud to donate $4,000 to the Abyssinian Meeting House restoration efforts this year. We hope you will consider making a donation to their important work.