Mason Temple

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Mason Temple is the International Sanctuary and central headquarters of the Church of God in Christ, this denomination is the largest African American Pentecostal group in the world.

Built in 1941 during World War II, the Temple was constructed to replace the original "Tabernacle" or meeting place of the Annual Holy Convocation which burned down in the late 1930's. Despite shortages in steel and other supplies, Mason Temple was the largest church building owned by a predominantly black religious denomination in the United States at the time of its completion.

The building was named for Bishop Charles Harrison Mason, renowned founder of the Church of God in Christ, who is entombed in a marble crypt inside the Temple. The Temple has a seating capacity of 3,732 and is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It was the location of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech on April 3, 1968, one day before his assassination.