The Church of God in Christ (C. O. G. I. C.) was founded in 1897 by removed Baptists Charles Price Jones (1864-1949) and Charles Harrison Mason (1864-1961). The temple is named after Charles Mason, who is interred inside the building. C. O. G. I. C. is the nation’s most prominent Black Pentecostal church.
The Temple began construction in 1940. Henry Taylor was the architect, and Ullyses Ellis was the head of construction. According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia, “The three-story building was constructed of brick, stone, reinforced concrete, and steel. The main auditorium’s seating capacity was five thousand. The balcony seated two thousand, and the assembly room under the balcony also had the capacity to seat two thousand. The temple had a baggage-check registration room, post office, barber shop, beauty salon, first aid and emergency ward, nursery, male and female rest rooms and shower baths, shoe shine parlor, thirty-six administrative offices, two industrial kitchens, two cafeterias, concession area, photographic booth, an elaborate indoor and outdoor sound system, and a modern heating and cooling system. The cost of building Mason Temple was almost a quarter of a million dollars.”
The church was very active during the Civil Rights Movement. It was the last place Martin Luther King Jr. spoke before being assassinated. He delivered his “Mountaintop” speech.
The Art Moderne building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
