19th century antique american solid walnut wood turned and tapered freestanding newel post salvaged from the extant gethsemane missionary baptist church. the exact fabricator or sash and door company is not known. the elegantly designed interior church building newel post was turned from a single piece of walnut wood. the original circular-shaped top or cap and handrail is intact. the staircase landing post has been painted over numerous times over the decades. the older red paint finish was likely applied in the early 1920's - around the time the theater style seating was added. surface wear and tear evident. the two and a half story pre-fire chicago brick building located at 1352 s. union street is one of the few buildings left standing after the wrecking ball, driven by urban renewal, destroyed nearly all of the maxwell street neighborhood in chicago. constructed as a private, german-speaking high school in 1869 (also served the neighboring zion evenagelical church - since demolished), it later became home to a romanian synagogue, an african-american church, and then briefly an arts center. designed by german architect augustus bauer (st. patrick’s church, tree studios), the german school (the city's first) is the only surviving example of bauer's work as a solo architect. the non-religious school was built of brick and stone with an interior containing six great recitation rooms. a small time capsule was placed inside a small vault within the original building cornerstone. by the turn of the century a romanian jewish congregation moved in, and converted the building into a synagogue in 1905. when the jewish congregation later moved to west to lawndale, the building became gethsemane missionary baptist church (established in 1935) with an african american congregation lead by reverend a. sharp. several alterations to the interior and exterior were made during this time, which included an apartment constructed in the rear of the building (1944) for reverend sharp to occupy, along with a newly-built facade in completed in 1945. the building remained in use as the gethsemane missionary baptist until 2002 as the last remaining protestant church in the maxwell street district. in addition, the church is the only extant building in the area that survived the great chicago fire of 1871 (and one of only 112 documented, pre-fire buildings still standing in chicago today) as of 2008, the church building has sat vacant. base diameter measures 9 inches, total height measures 27 inches, total height measures 43 inches.