The congregation split off from Mount Zion and c. 1884 constructed a building on this site to which Sinclair's name has been attached. That structure burned in 1907. The present church is a red brick Gothic Revival structure with a wide nave, pointed-arched windows, strip buttresses, and an attached tower on the south side. The interior follows the Baptist format of a large space with focus upon the pulpit. Lankford, one of the first professional Black architects in the United States, was considered the dean of African American architects at the time of his death. Although the Washington, D.C.–based designer's work covered a wide range of building types, most of his projects were ecclesiastical. In 1908, Lankford was named supervising architect for the AME Church and, in that capacity, designed churches in a number of cities in the United States, including Virginia, and even abroad.