There are few records of the residency of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith pictured here in 1959. Regular services were held on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays and broadcast over WIOK radio. However, the property has significant historical importance. It was a union hall in 1955.  On November 26, Fidel Castro, a 29-year-old Cuban Revolutionary attorney, was scheduled to give a speech at the Italian Club Theater to help raise funds for his fight against then-Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. He was barred from the theater that day and moved his speech to this property.

The Society of La Union Marti Maceo Club (Sociedad La Union Marti-Maceo) was formed in 1904 as a mutual aid society for Afro-Cubans. In the early 1960s, their original clubhouse on 6th Ave. at 11th St. opened in 1909, had been purchased and demolished during the wave of urban renewal. In 1966, they purchased this building and spent $1800 to add a Spanish tile canopy and Mediterranean doors. In a controversial move in 2018, the club’s president attempted to sell the building to her cousin to resolve club debt. The sale was eventually canceled, and the club still owns the property. Hand-painted ceramic tiles with portraits of the club’s namesakes, Jose Marti and black general Antonio Maceo, are visible on the front wall of the building.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved