The 1927 Neoclassical Revival First Baptist Church is an imposing landmark as one looks west through downtown on Chapel Hill Street. Durham Baptists have worshipped at and near the site since 1854, when they moved from a lot on Pettigrew Street beside the railroad because locomotives' noise was, according to the church's web site, "a detriment to the orderly conduct of religious services."

Originally called Rose of Sharon Baptist Church, the congregation changed to its current name by 1877 when it replaced a wood-frame building with a brick structure, marked by a tall spire, fronting on Mangum Street. Outgrowing its quarters, the church commissioned its fourth home from church architect Reuben Harrison of Chattanooga. A stepping stone for ladies getting into their carriages remains on the property from the 1854 chuch.