Urban Bible Fellowship Church; St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church

Built in 1867, this historic church in east Baltimore was recently known as the Urban Bible Fellowship Church and before that St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church. A March 2020 lightning strike hit the steeple, igniting it and causing the steeple to fall to the ground. Designed by noted local architect George A. Frederick, who designed the Baltimore City Hall, it is a fine example of High Victorian architecture featuring a brick exterior with stone trim, a tower reaching a height of around 250 feet, large entrance archways with a brick and stone pattern, tall stained glass windows, and decorative arched brickwork under the roofline. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012 and remains an important landmark in Baltimore.

St. James Catholic Church was established in 1833. Its congregation was first composed of German and Irish immigrants. Within eight years the German population grew and the Irish in the area moved closer to the Jonestown neighborhood. To accommodate the Irish and other English speakers, another church called St. Vincent was founded. St. James became designated to served the German community. The congregation continued to grow and by 1861 the original church had become too small. As a result, the congregation made plans to build the present church, which was dedicated on December 22, 1867.

The congregation was dedicated to providing a wide range of programs including cultural activities, philanthropic services, social groups, and a savings and loan association. Many prominent business and civic leaders were members of the church.

The demographics of the community around the church had transitioned from German and Irish-Americans to largely non-Catholic African Americans by the 1960s. As a result, the size of the St. James congregation had decreased. In 1966 it merged with another nearby church, St. John the Evangelist, whose mostly Irish congregation had dwindled as well. It eventually closed in 1986. It is unclear whether it became Urban Bible Fellowship Church at that time.

Honick, Jeffrey. "St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church." March 15, 1982. https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-668.pdf.

"Steeple Catches Fire, Partially Collapses At Urban Bible Fellowship Church In Baltimore." CBS Baltimore. March 28, 2020. https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/steeple-catches-fire-at-urban-bible-fellowship-church-in-baltimore.