Presbyterian Church
During the 1850s the Presbyterian populations in Trenton had continued to grow rapidly there were several churches in the center and southern sections of town leaving the west end underserved. Members of First Church organized a Sunday school which met in unoccupied houses on West Prospect Street. In August of 1874 the cornerstone of a Presbyterian church on Prospect Street was laid.
By April of 1875 the Prospect Street Presbyterian Church was organized with 35 members. By the early 1900s the church had grown to be one of the largest Presbyterian congregations in the city. However, by the mid-1940s much of the original congregation began relocation to more wealthy suburbs and were replaced with African-Americans who were steadily moving to the northern states from the south.
Due to the declining congregation at Prospect Street, by the 1990s and the church needing extensive repairs was closed in 1993, while the church looked for ways to finance the needed repairs. Repairs were completed on the sanctuary's roof in 1994, however, they were unable to secure the needed funding to complete the remaining repairs.
The Imani Community Church was chartered on June 4, 1994, and opened in the former Presbyterian church with 77 members. The Afro-centric church and community center steadily grew to 100 members by 1998 but the high maintenance costs of the building led to its eventual closure in August 2006. The community center remained open for events until 2007, when the complex was sold.
In April 2015, the city acquired the church and put out a request for proposals for its redevelopment in August of that year. As of 2021, several groups have shown interest in the property, however, there has been no movement. There has been a partial collapse in the building, and vandalism is getting worse. We only hope that something can be done to save this amazing building before it is too late.
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