Vernon AME Church

The historic Vernon African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E) Church is located at 311 North Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a district known as Black Wall Street. The facility was initially constructed in 1919. During the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, the basement of the church was the only remaining part of the structure left standing and was used as a shelter by many parishioners and the community. The Sunday following the Massacre, worship was held for survivors. Years later, the church was rebuilt between 1925 to 1928, above the original concrete basement and masonry water table. To differentiate between the original 1919 structure and the reconstruction, the brick masonry water table was coated with stucco, painted white and scored to look like large format stone. Due to the historic significance of this site and structure, the Pastor and congregation were invested in preserving their church for the next 100 years.
The GH2 Preservation team worked with the Pastor of the Vernon A.M.E. Church to prepare multiple grants for repairs to the Church prior to the centennial remembrance of the Race Massacre in June 2021. The first step was to conduct an exterior and interior assessment of the existing facilities, including ADA compliance, evaluating the roof condition, documenting the stained-glass window profiles, assessing the exterior envelope, and site. A report was prepared that documented the current state of the existing facility inside and out. The report provided recommendations for repair, including prioritization, and a preliminary cost estimate.
A significant part of the water infiltration occurring at the Vernon A.M.E. Church was related to cracks in the exterior coating and missing mortar in the masonry wall. The exterior needed to be stabilized, with the installation of new sealant at all windows, as well as removing and replacing the existing spalling exterior stucco coating and replacing in kind. GH2 recommended a 100% repoint of the existing masonry and stone corbel on the historic 1919 and 1928 structure.
The exterior rehabiliation and restoration of the historic stained-glass windows, repoint of the existing masonry and stone corbel façade, and roofing repair projects were completed prior to the centennial remembrance of the Race Massacre.