St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1962-10-19
claim Race Biased Action:
lnferrocidI Church
Sues Aldermen For
Permit To Build

|
Permit To Build
Shiloh Temple, Inc, a Pentecos-
tai Assembly church which was
forced from the building it owned
at 1900 Third st. s., in 1859 by
the University Of Minnesota ex-
pansion sought a Hennepin court
order to force the Minneapolis city
council to grant a construction
permit to build a new church on
land it owns at 1901 Pleasant Av.
First public attention to the
plight Of the church came in a
story in this newspaper about ten
months ago when the Rev. Mrs.
Matte Smith complained that 18th
ward alderman Harmon T. Ogdahl
had ordered the city building in
spector not to issue a permit for
the construction of the building.
Alderman Ogdahl when ques-
toned by this newspaper stated
he had placed a hold" order on
the permit because the church did
not have enough ground to provide
off street parking. He denied at
the time that the interracial COM
position of the church and the
fact that its pastor was a Negro
woman had anything to do with
his stand.
The change Of ward lines now
has placed the, proposed site In
the 18th Ward which is repre-
scented in the Council by Alder
man Earl johnson.
The civil action which the con-
gregation has filed in the Henne-
pin county district court names
both Ogdahl and johnson and
Building Inspector Donald Erick-
son.
At the last regular council
meeting Alderman Johnson joked
about the suit which he stated he
inherited from Alderman Ogdahl."
While Alderman Ogdahl argues
that the church should have off
street parking facilities depending
upon the size Of the congregation,
there is presently no city ordinance
which requires it. The proposed
new coming ordinance which has
not yet been approved calls for
off-street parking for all new
churches.
A few months after the story
In this newspaper, Mrs. Smith
appealed to the Minneapolis
NAACP branch for help In the
matter and It was referred to the
legal redress committee Of the
branch.
Douglas Hall, attorney for the
church stated that the refusal Of
the permit and the voting Of a hold
order by the city council on rec
ommendation Of the Roads and
Bridges Committee on Jan. 27,
was due to the interracial char
acter," Of Shiloh Temple church.
The suit claims that under the
city's present coming ordinance
a church may be built on tho
Pleasant Av. site.
Shiloh Temples pastor Mrs.
Smith said the congregation was
about 100 members, most Of them
white"
The church was organized in
the 1905 in a small store on East
Franklin and Minnehaha. It later
was located at 171S E. Franklin.
In the 1940's the congregation &C.
quired a church building on the
corner Of 10th & Third st. s.
When Rev. Howard Smith
died he was succeeded by his
wife who has carried on until
the present time with the men,
bershIp meeting in various
homes.
Many white and Negro citizens
who have become interested In the
church's plight are Of the opinion
that II the church had been an all
white congregation there would
have been no trouble securing a
building permit They believe Al
derman ogdahl who Is president
Of the Town Realty Co., and is
presently running for the legisla-
ture ordered the hold order be-
cause Of protests from the inn
mediate neighborhood because Of
the racial composition Of the
church.