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125 Years of Service

Founded in 1893

The Tabernacle Church, formerly the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church (TMBC), was originally founded in 1893 in an area called the “Styx” in Palm Beach. African-American construction crews who were building the grand hotels and homes in Palm Beach lived with their families in the “Styx” area. One year later, the TMBC relocated to downtown West Palm Beach on what is now Clematis Street and established the first school for African American children in Palm Beach County.

By 1912, residents of the “Styx” were evicted from the island of Palm Beach and many of them eventually settled in the Northwest section of West Palm Beach. A new TMBC was built at its current location on Eighth Street in 1925. With its distinctive towers and lighted domes, the TMBC is recognized as one of Florida’s most important Romanesque Revival design churches. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The Tabernacle Church celebrates its 124th anniversary on October 19, 2017.

Hurricane History / Restoration

Restoring God’s House

Several years ago, The Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church was severely damaged by hurricanes Frances and Wilma and their stained glass windows incurred extensive damage. The total damage sustained by the church was in the neighborhood of almost two million dollars! Through hard work and generous donations orchestrated by TAB Development, Inc., the congregation was able to return for services at the church after being displaced for more than a year. However, in order to protect the beautiful stain glass windows from future potential storm damage, the windows had to be boarded up. You can imagine how this detracted from the beauty of the church. TAB Development, Inc. helped coordinate the fund raising effort to restore and upgrade the windows, which cost $50,000 each. Restoration included installing hurricane-proof glass on the outside to protect the restored stained glass on the inside, eliminating the need for hurricane shutters.

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