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Bethel Church Park at Bethel Baptist Church

by Jill Jarvis Leave a Comment

Bethel Baptist Church Pews at Bethel Baptist Church
Just west of Downtown is a neighborhood with some houses and lots of townhomes. I’ve driven through many times, but I never realized that the fire damaged Bethel Baptist Church was now the Bethel Church Park!

Bethel Church Park Bethel Baptist Church
Bethel Baptist Church is not a playground park… but it is a place that will amaze you. Just like you cannot believe the beautiful Sisters of Charity Park and Helen’s Park are tucked away off busy streets, you will be amazed at this beautiful park in the quiet neighborhood, by Downtown.

Bethel Baptist Church Historical Marker
Three of the walls of Bethel Baptist Church are still standing, with an open roof, new benches and stained glass that catches the sunlight. You can walk inside the church (during open hours, 10am-5pm) and learn about it’s history.

Bethel Baptist Church Sign
The church was built in 1889 as a haven for former slaves in the Freedmantown district. This structure was destroyed by a storm in 1900.

Bethel Baptist Church was rebuilt, destroyed again, and rebuilt again with the brick walls you see today. Church services were held until 1997 and in 2005, a fire destroyed the interior of the church, leaving only the exterior walls intact.

In 2009, the City of Houston bought the damaged building and installed the steel supports to preserve it.

Bethel Baptist Church Entrance
I have not seen another Houston park like this one and I was amazed as we approached it. When we went inside, I was even more amazed.

Bethel Church Beams
When we visited, the church was open and we were able to walk through. (Some past reviews say the doors were closed during “open” hours.)

The only trick was parking. Most streets in this neighborhood are one way, narrow and have signs saying “permit parking only”. We had to go a few blocks away to find public parking. Still, it was worth it to see this church!

Bethel Baptist Church Roof
We have seen a lot of Houston parks, but this one is special. The preservation of the historical church is imaginative, the history lessons are extremely interesting and the light through the glass onto the pews really did take our breath away.

This Bethel Baptist Church park (parking challenges and all) is worth a trip from anywhere to see.

Bethel Baptist Church – Bethel Church Park:

Address:  801 Andrews St, Houston, TX 77019

Find more Houston parks:

Filed Under: All, Parks, Things to do February 18, 2016

About Jill Jarvis

Jill Jarvis is the owner of JillBJarvis.com, a BigKidSmallCity.com and Things to Do in Houston, with Kids, blog!

She is the mom of 4 and started the website years ago... when she was tired of constantly cleaning up the same mess in the family room.

Another mom showed her that you could just go do fun things in Houston, without hours of planning.

This inspired the blog and changed everything about how she enjoyed life in Houston, with kids!

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jill-jarvis-bigkidsmallcity-circle-300 Welcome!  JillBJarvis.com is the go-to blog for things to do in Houston with kids!  It is upbeat and dedicated to making our big city feel small.   START HERE!    

On this website you will find a full list of Houston weekly events, things to do around the city, travel ideas and resources for parents.

I know just what it’s like to be overwhelmed by work, life and family. I spent a lot of years traveling for work, missing big milestones for my kids and feeling bad about everything.

I started this website to make a list of all the events happening around Houston and then pick one to enjoy with my kids. And instead of thinking of all the things I was missing, I started to enjoy the things we were doing together.

If you are a parent that is feeling overwhelmed by all the things you could be doing in Houston… please just use our weekly lists and daily posts as suggestions. Pick one thing to do with your family and intentionally ignore the rest!

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