9. Mount Olivet Baptist Church

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The synagogue’s/church’s Corinthian pillars exemplify Neoclassical architecture.

Mount Olivet Baptist Church at 120th and Lenox Avenue shares a story with many synagogues in New York that have been converted into churches. The Temple Israel of the City of New York was founded in 1873 and is still active today in Harlem. One of its many previous homes was a 1907 Harlem building, constructed for the synagogue in the Neoclassical style.

Perhaps it was the resemblance to a Roman temple that caused Mount Olivet to acquire it in 1925. The influential black Baptist congregation has left most of the Judaica intact, including an ark and Star of David fanlights.