This building is the former home of the First Baptist Church of Homestead. The church was organized on September 5, 1909 by Rev. Henry Howard Sturgis. This building replaced a wooden church on this spot that was built in 1912. The groundbreaking for the building began in June 1940 but construction was interrupted by WWII and it was not completed until January 1944. The former Sunday School building in the rear was built in 1926. It was designated a Homestead Historic landmark in 2000.
This is the only remaining neoclassical structure in historic downtown Homestead. The dramatic entrance columns really makes the building stand out. After Hurricane Andrew in 1992 devastated the area, the church members left and built another church at 29050 SW 177th Ave in Homestead. Since then this building has had many other uses. The front of the building has the words The Sanctuary. It was last used as a community church and local special event space. It looks to be unoccupied and may possibly be for sale. How cool it would be to own this historic building. read more