From the Historic Preservation Miami site:

Statement of Significance: The Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church is architecturally significant because it represents one of the few examples of the Mediterranean Revival style in Overtown. The church building serves to house the oldest black congregation in Miami. The congregation was organized in March 1896, several months before the City of Miami was incorporated. The exterior of Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church embodies the distinctive physical characteristics of a “tapered-down” Mediterranean Revival style of architecture. The appearance of the building is highly significant because it is one of the few buildings with any degree of architectural styling remaining in Overtown (originally known as “Colored Town”). The scale of the building and its façade made it one of the most imposing structures in Overtown’s built environment. The present building houses the oldest black congregation in Miami. In an article published in 1915, it was said that the church “numbers among its officers and members many of the progressive and substantial people of the city.” Throughout its existence, the church has served the religious and humanitarian needs of the