About Bethel A.M.E. Church (Reading, Pennsylvania)
Religion, Churches, Museums, Cultural, Interesting Places, Other Museums, Other Churches
Bethel A.M.E. Church, now known as the Central Pennsylvania African American Museum, is a historic African Methodist Episcopal church at 119 North 10th Street in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was originally built in 1837, and is a 2 1/2-story brick and stucco building with a gable roof. It was rebuilt about 1867-1869, and remodeled in 1889. It features a three-story, brick tower with a pyramidal roof and topped by a finial. The church is known to have housed fugitive slaves and the congregation was active in the Underground Railroad. The church is now home to a museum dedicated to the history of African Americans in Central Pennsylvania.