The corner stone for the first African-American church in Santa Monica was layed at 2001 4th Street in 1909. The building was moved from 4th and Ashland and believed to have been an old school house. The one and two story building has Colonial Revival style influences. It was remodeled in the 1940s with an addition for the price of $300, according to the October 10, 2005 Public Hearing to Consider Landmark Designation Application, created by the City of Santa Monica Planning Staff.
Originally named the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church by its founders in 1870, the denomination represented a break from the majority white governed Methodist Espiscopal Church that many slaves had been baptized in during the Civil War. A separate organization was created to so that the constituents could ordain their own ministers and bishops without permission. The name of the Church was changed to Christian Methodist Episcopal in 1953.
