LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Quinn Chapel’s multi-year preservation project has received a fresh round of funding in the form of a $100,000 grant. 

What You Need To Know

  • Grant money will restore electricity to the chapel

  • Afterward, contractors will work on other structural improvement projects

  • In total, the project has been awarded nearly $2 million

  • The building is owned by the YMCA

In July, Louisville Metro was awarded a grant from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. The money will pay for power to be restored to the building, allowing workers to move forward on other projects to make the building ready for a new tenant.

Preservation efforts have been spearheaded by Louisville and the YMCA, which purchased the historic building in 2002. They have secured nearly $2 million for the project through grants. 

Inside Quinn Chapel years of damage are in need of repair before a new occupant can move in (Spectrum News 1/Mason Brighton)

“So this wall is actually constructed of partially frame and brick and then solid brick on top of it, which is partially why it’s failing. So what the contractors are going to do is come back in with concrete block, rebuild the wall and then put a brick on the exterior so it matches the rest,” said Savannah Darr, Historic Preservation Officer for Louisville Metro.

The chapel was home to the African Methodist Episcopal Church congregation for over 100 years before they constructed a new building in the Russell neighborhood.

While it may not look the best now, the building was once a prominent feature of the civil rights movement in the city. 

“Dr. Martin Luther King spoke in this building and almost daily there were marches that started out front of this building and marched through parts of downtown,” Darr said.

It’s why there have been years of work to ensure the building survives and hopefully will be used in a new way once work is complete.

“Someone that can come in and have a vision for a community asset and be able to help bring this building forward,” Darr said.

Louisville Metro and the YMCA plan to discuss the potential end use for Quinn Chapel this fall. A timeline for when this current round of restoration will begin has not been finalized.