Landmarks Illinois awards preservation grant to Blackwell-Israel Samuel AME Zion Church on Chicago’s South Side
The funding through the Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side will help stabilize the Chicago Landmark in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood
Chicago, April 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Landmarks Illinois has awarded $9,500 through the Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side to Blackwell-Israel Samuel A.M.E. Zion Church. The grant funds will help stabilize the front façade of the architecturally and culturally significant church, a designated Chicago Landmark.
Blackwell-Israel Samuel A.M.E. Zion Church is located at 3956 S. Langley Ave. in the city’s Grand Boulevard neighborhood. It was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by Edbrooke and Burnham and completed in 1886. Throughout its history, the building has served as an important cultural and social hub for the African American community, providing voter registration, tutoring, adult education and health resources. It has also hosted gatherings for the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Conference and National Council and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The front of Blackwell-Israel Samuel A.M.E. Zion Church is in urgent need of maintenance. The congregation will use Landmarks Illinois grant funds to secure the building’s north-facing entrance vestibule, preventing it from collapsing.
Previous support for Blackwell-Israel Samuel A.M.E. Zion Church
This is the second grant Landmarks Illinois has given to Blackwell-Israel Samuel A.M.E. Zion Church. In 2021, Landmarks Illinois awarded a grant through the Preservation Heritage Fund to help the congregation make necessary repairs to the northeast entrance of the building, which sustained water damage from a roof leak. Landmarks Illinois also helped facilitate previous condition assessments of the church, conducted by McGuire Igleski Associates and Simpson Gumpertz & Heger.
More about the Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side
The Landmarks Illinois Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side provides planning and capital matching grants to support organizations and people working to preserve the history, culture and architecture of Chicago’s South Side, where Mr. Black, acclaimed civil rights leader, author and historian spent the majority of his life living and promoting African American history.
Grants through the Landmarks Illinois Timuel D. Black, Jr. Grant Fund for Chicago’s South Side range from $500 - $10,000 each, depending on need. The grant program is open to both nonprofits and for-profit entities. Grants are awarded on a 3:1 matching basis. Grant application deadlines are twice a year, January 1 and July 1.
Visit our website to view complete grant guidelines and to submit a grant application. You can also see past grant recipients on our website.
About Landmarks Illinois
Landmarks Illinois is a membership-based, historic preservation nonprofit organization founded in 1971. Our mission is to accelerate the preservation and reuse of significant places statewide to foster healthy, livable and thriving communities. Through advocacy, funding, technical expertise and public engagement, we position preservation as an accessible, equitable and effective tool to support strategic, community-driven revitalization. For more information, visit www.Landmarks.org.
Attachments
Kaitlyn McAvoy Landmarks Illinois 312-995-9679 kmcavoy@landmarks.org
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