Museum of African American History
Oldest surviving Black church building in the country, restored using clues dug from its own backyard.
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About this audio guide
This guide to the Museum of African American History in Boston follows the 2010 restoration of the African Meeting House, the oldest surviving Black church building in the country, built in 1806 by Boston's free Black community. After the project stalled for years and was revived by federal stimulus funds, restorers chose to recreate the room not as it looked in 1806, but as it looked in 1855, the year William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass spoke from its pulpit. Archaeologists and paint analysts turned detective to reconstruct that lost year, starting with a corroded iron light fixture pulled from the backyard dirt.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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