When Malcom Pye looks out over the sanctuary of Liberty Hill Baptist Church, he thinks about the people who have worshiped there since 1956. He knows many of them: He is a third-generation member of the church. 

“My grandparents belonged to this church,” he said proudly. “I bring my mother here.”

Pye was a volunteer tour guide with Cleveland History Days, 10 days of programming arranged by Canalway, a nonprofit cultural heritage organization. On Wednesday, nearly 50 people toured Liberty Hill Baptist at 8205 Euclid Ave. 

The church was built from 1910 to 1912 for Cleveland’s oldest Jewish congregation, Anshe Chesed, and named the Euclid Avenue Temple. When Anshe Chesed moved to Beachwood, Liberty Hill Baptist bought the complex, holding its first services there in 1956. (It is the third home for Liberty Hill Baptist, which was formed in 1917.)  

History is everywhere

Margaret Lann from the Cleveland Restoration Society explained that the Moorish Revival and Romanesque Revival style of the structure set it apart from other buildings going up in Cleveland at the beginning of the 20th century. The exterior bricks are set in a “tapestry style,” she said, and the tiled dome sits on a square sanctuary. The architect, Lehman & Schmitt, also designed the Cuyahoga County Courthouse on Lakeside Avenue.

One stunning feature of the sanctuary: Eight stained glass windows created for Anshe Chesed by Tiffany Studios. The fabled glass company also created the tile mosaic that today sits above the church’s baptismal pool.

  • The Tiffany windows created for the Anshe Chesed Synagogue more than 100 years ago still provide sunlight and inspiration for worshipers at Liberty Hill Baptist Church.
    The Tiffany windows created for Anshe Chesed more than 100 years ago still provide sunlight and inspiration for worshipers at Liberty Hill Baptist Church. Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland
  • Tiffany Studios also created the tile mosaic that today sits above the church’s baptismal pool. Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland
  • This is one of eight stained-glass windows created by Tiffany Studios for Anshe Chesed in the early 1900s.
    This is one of eight stained-glass windows created by Tiffany Studios for the Euclid Avenue Temple in the early 1900s. Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland
  • Two of the eight Tiffany windows designed more than 100 years ago. According to Margaret Lann of the Cleveland Restoration Society, the windows do not use "figural representation" but, rather, represent different periods in Jewish history.
    The tall windows open to allow for breezes. Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland
  • Tiffany window showing the Ten Commandments.
    The windows do not use “figural represenation” but, rather, draw on different periods of Jewish history. Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland
  • The overhead lights in one of the church's meeting rooms are in the shape of the Star of David.
    The overhead lights in one of the church’s meeting rooms are all in the shape of the Star of David, recalling the building’s original use as a synagogue. Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland

Liberty Hill’s pastor, Michael L. Brown, noted that the building is huge, running from Euclid Avenue nearly to Carnegie Avenue along East 82nd Street. In addition to the sanctuary, it has classroom spaces, a fellowship hall that can host up to 250 people, and a large auditorium (added in 1924) that features seats formerly in the original Cleveland Playhouse building at 8500 Euclid Ave. After moving into the building in the 1950s, Liberty Hill Baptist used the theater space to host famous Black performers including Mahalia Jackson and Lionel Hampton. 

History is everywhere at Liberty Hill Baptist. The question, Brown said, is this: “What do we do with this building that God has given us?”

Preservation is important

Michael L. Brown is Liberty Hill Baptist's seventh pastor. He took over in March of 2020, confronting pandemic challenges right away.
Michael L. Brown is the seventh pastor of Liberty Hill Baptist. He took over in March of 2020 and had to confront the challenges of the pandemic right away. Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland

Brown, who became pastor of the 106-year-old congregation in March of 2020, pointed out the sophisticated audio-video equipment in the sanctuary. He said Liberty Hill recently completed restoration projects on its roof and is working to restore the rest of the complex. 

Charles Scott of Fairfax is helping Brown with that work. As parts of the pews break, Scott repairs them. He often has to take intact seats from the back of the sanctuary and move them up toward the front. 

“I keep looking online,” he said. “But I just can’t find what I need to replace them.”

Charles Scott is the church's go-to guy for fixing pews.
Church member Charles Scott works to repair pews that break in the more-than-100-year-old structure. Credit: Jeff Haynes / Signal Cleveland

Preservation is important at Liberty Hill. Last year, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Fifty years ago, the city named Liberty Hill Baptist a Cleveland Landmark, one of the first such declarations in the city.

“It’s one of the great natural wonders of God,” said Brown, the pastor.

Resources at Liberty Hill Baptist Church

“A lot of outreach goes on here,” Brown said. The church, at 8206 Euclid Ave., runs two community food programs.  

Mobile food pantry

First Wednesday of the month, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The pantry distributes food from the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. 

Community hot meal and resource center

Third Saturday of the month, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Community members can browse for gently used clothes, toiletries and personal items.

For more information: www.libertyhillcle.org

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