Next month, a storied family construction firm will complete the new home of Friendship Baptist Church, the 155-year-old congregation organized by former slaves that early on met in a discarded railroad boxcar and later sacrificed its sanctuary for the new Mercedes-Benz stadium.
Ed Van Winkle of Van Winkle Construction noted Friendship’s new campus at 80 Walnut Street, just blocks from the new stadium, will be the 100th church the firm founded by his grandfather will have built.
“We are honored that Friendship marks this milestone for us,” said Van Winkle, who partnered with C.D. Moody Construction.