Calvary Baptist Church Building

The Calvary Baptist Church building is prominently located at the northeast corner of NE 2nd Street and Walnut Avenue. It shares this intersection with the LEVEL and Deep Deuce Apartment complexes, as well as the new Aloft Hotel. The location is only .5 mile to the downtown courthouse, .2 of a mile to Bricktown, and less than a minutes drive to access I-235.Originally constructed in 1921, The Calvary Baptist Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and played an integral role to the Civil Rights movement in Oklahoma City. In 1953, a 24-year-old Martin Luther King, Jr. found himself in Oklahoma City looking for a job. He was given the opportunity to preach at the sanctuary of the Calvary Baptist Church, but church officials thought he lacked the experience to secure the position. He would later return in 1960 to the building as the keynote speaker at one of the many freedom rallies held at the church. The church also served as the strategic planning and meeting point for the civil rights marches led by Clara Luper, a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement. In 2012 the building underwent a major renovation effort to convert this historic site into useable office space. Through meticulous planning and design, the owners were able to highlight many of the historic features of the church, while at the same time creating a Class A work environment. The second and third levels of the building contain 19 private offices, with floor-to-ceiling, frameless glass partitions allowing the natural light to pour through the Tiffany stained-glass windows. The entrance level was redesigned to accommodate a large reception area, four conference rooms, a full kitchen, and gymnasium.