Holy Temple COGIC & C. H. Brown Legacy Project

Historic Holy Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is in the Preston Heights area of Charlottesville, VA at 12th Street and Rosser Avenue. Rosser Avenue was recently given an honorary name--C. H. Brown Way. The building was constructed in 1947 by my dad, Rev. C. H. Brown, who was also a minority building contractor in the city and surrounding counties. While he was living, Rev. Brown did all the repairs and maintenance on the building. The building was added to the city's list of historic buildings about 10 years ago. Over the past few years, the building has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair due to growing water leaks. It is now in danger of having the ceiling collapse into the sanctuary. Heavy rains dump gallons of water into the building and run down the walls into the basement creating mold and a perpetually damp environment preventing the utilization of its classroom. My guess is that there is also water damage (wood rot) to the rafters and the area between the roof and ceiling.

Ideally, repairs would include the replacement of the roof, rafters, ceiling and affected electrical wiring. The amount of damage to the lower level cannot be determined at this time.

Preservation of this edifice is important to the salvaging of one of the last minority (Black) neighborhoods in the city. My dad built 5 residences between 1947 and 1958 establishing a residential area where there had been a dumping ground for trash. Most of the other surrounding properties have been acquired with the objective of selling to the University of Virginia or to a developer.

All funds will be used first for repairs to the church. In the event there are leftover funds, they will be used to create a legacy project honoring the founder, builder and one time pastor of the church.

Who is Rev C H Brown: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._H._Brown