Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church

From the National Register nomination

The salient feature of the front of the church is the entry tower located at the southwest corner. The tower has two stages, with an entry with a lancet transom in the lower stage, small rectangular louvered vents in the upper stage, and a peaked pyramidal roof at the top. The roof is clad with shingle-pattern metal roofing and has an ornamental metal finial. The top courses of vinyl siding are missing from the tower's upper stage, revealing novelty weatherboard siding on the front and sides and plain weatherboards on the back. The entry has modern double-leaf metal doors with a six-panel pattern in each leaf. Above the doors, which are lower than they were historically, is a panel with the name of the church. The transom has what appears to be the original wood tracery although the glass is modern. A round medallion with a figure of a cross and anvil is historic and was reused when the rest of the glass was replaced. The entry has a concrete stoop and steps with wood railings that also extend along a wheelchair ramp across the front of the building. In the front gable end is a large lancet window with wood tracery. The side windows-three on the west side and two on the east-have Greek Revival-influenced peaked and molded wooden cornices. At the southeast corner of the foundation is a cornerstone (possibly marbled) carved with the inscription "Bethel A.M.E. 1893-1919." The rear addition, which was added in the 1963-1965 period, has a low-pitched shed roof, an exterior wooden stair to a second-story apartment, and a cinder block foundation. Most windows have replacement vinyl one-over-one sashes although there is at least one original wooden stack-pane two-over-two window. Most doors are replacements except for a probably original wood and glass panel door on the west side.