storefront churches Vergara
photos by Camilo José

"By returning many times over the past thirty years to document
the same buildings, I was able to show how ordinary structures
assume, modify, and shed a religious character, how traditional
churches—if they fail to adapt to new congregations—are
demolished, and how new buildings are designed and built from the
ground up as churches. I explore how religious leaders create, over
time, an environment that inspires devotion, and I seek the reasons
that dictate their choices of objects, texts, and imagery."
-Camilo José Vergara

First Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1980
253 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey

First Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1991
253 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey

First Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1994
253 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey

First Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1997
253 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey

First Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 2009
253 Bergen Street, Newark, New Jersey

1981
3339 Third Ave, Bronx, New York

Inglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I. Church, 1990
3339 Third Ave, Bronx, New York

Inglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I. Church, 1994
3339 Third Ave, Bronx, New York

Inglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I. Church, 2009
3339 Third Ave, Bronx, New York

Greater Holy Light Church, 1992
7316 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California

Jesucristo es el Camino, 1996
7316 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California

Jesucristo es el Camino, Inglesia Cristiana Pentecostes, 2006
7316 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California

Holy Mission Baptist Church, 1992
1409 E. Vernon Ave, Los Angeles, California

Holy Mission Baptist Church, 2002
1409 E. Vernon Ave, Los Angeles, California

Residence, 2006
1409 E. Vernon Ave, Los Angeles, California

St. Peter’s Pentecostal Tabernacle Deliverance Center, 1980
Home St. at Westchester Ave, Bronx, New York

St. Peter’s Pentecostal Tabernacle Deliverance Center, 2002
Home St. at Westchester Ave, Bronx, New York

St. Peter’s Pentecostal Tabernacle Deliverance Center, 2009
Home St. at Westchester Ave, Bronx, New York

Iglesia Pentecostal Unida Int., 1987
4181 Park Ave, Bronx, New York

1ra Casa de Dios Puerta del Cielo., 2002
4181 Park Ave, Bronx, New York

2002
Ashford St. at Sutter Ave, Brooklyn, New York

Free Mission Church for all People, 2004
Ashford St. at Sutter Ave, Brooklyn, New York

St. John Evangelist M.B. Church (formerly Buick dealership), 2001
63rd St east of Throop, Chicago, Illinois

St. John Evangelist M.B. Church (formerly Buick dealership), 2009
63rd St east of Throop, Chicago, Illinois

House of Faith Church of Holiness, 2003
401 Saratoga Ave, Brooklyn, New York

House of Faith Church of Holiness, 2009
401 Saratoga Ave, Brooklyn, New York

Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1981
S. 10th at Brenner St., Newark, New Jersey

Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1998
S. 10th at Brenner St., Newark, New Jersey

The Church of the Prophesy (former Robert Treat Savings & Loan), 1992
530 Clinton Ave, Newark, New Jersey

St. Paul’s Church of the Prophesy (former Robert Treat Savings & Loan), 1992
530 Clinton Ave, Newark, New Jersey

Greater Monument Church, 1991
1544 Berkeley, Ford Heights, Illinois

Word of Faith Deliverance Ministry, 2009
1544 Berkeley, Ford Heights, Illinois

Evangelistic United Church of God, 1980
11 Blum Street, Newark, New Jersey

Evangelistic Glorious Church of God in Christ, 2002
11 Blum Street, Newark, New Jersey

Evangelistic Glorious Church of God in Christ, 2009
11 Blum Street, Newark, New Jersey

Divine Temple of Love Tab, 2001
727 Kaighns Avenue, Camden, New Jersey

Divine Temple of Love Tab, 2004
727 Kaighns Avenue, Camden, New Jersey

Victory in Praise Worship Center, 2009
727 Kaighns Avenue, Camden, New Jersey

St. Michael of the Highway Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith, 2005
looking north on 7th Street towards Florence, Camden, New Jersey

St. Michael of the Highway Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith, 2007
looking north on 7th Street towards Florence, Camden, New Jersey

City Methodist Church, 1989
Washington St at 6th Ave, Gary, Indiana

City Methodist Church, 1993
Washington St at 6th Ave, Gary, Indiana

City Methodist Church, 2007
Washington St at 6th Ave, Gary, Indiana

City Methodist Church, 2009
Washington St at 6th Ave, Gary, Indiana

Stranger’s Home M.B. Church, 1978
617 West Evergreen, Chicago, Illinois

Northside Stranger’s Home M.B. Church, 2009
617 West Evergreen, Chicago, Illinois

Mural by Kent Twitchell, 1984
Twitchell was hired by a local Catholic priest who believed that the image of Christ would put a damper on gang violence.
11107 S. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, California

Mural by Kent Twitchell, 1998
11107 S. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, California

Heal Camden, 2005
Broadway at Carl Miller, Camden, New Jersey

Heal Camden, 2007
Broadway at Carl Miller, Camden, New Jersey

Heal Camden, 2009
Broadway at Carl Miller, Camden, New Jersey

This exhibition of Camilo José Vergara’s photographs is
on display at the National Building Museum until
November 29, 2009
National Building Museum
nbm.org