First Methodist Episcopal Church | |
 | |
   | |
| Location | 421 S. Farwell St. Eau Claire, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 44°48′37″N91°29′48″W / 44.81028°N 91.49667°W Coordinates: 44°48′37″N91°29′48″W / 44.81028°N 91.49667°W |
| Built | 1911 |
| Architect | James E. Fisher |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference # | 99000241 |
| Added to NRHP | February 18, 1999 |
First Methodist Episcopal Church is a Neogothic Revival-styled church built in 1911 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. [1] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 for its architectural significance. [2] [3]
Eau Claire is a city in Chippewa and Eau Claire counties in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located almost entirely in Eau Claire County, for which it is the county seat, the city had a population of 65,883 at the 2010 census, making it the state's ninth-largest city. Eau Claire is the principal city of the Eau Claire, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a part of the Eau Claire-Menomonie Combined Statistical Area.
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.
The congregation that became First Methodist Episcopal began meeting in 1857, praying in the home of D.S. Hastings. Between 1863 and 1868, they built a wooden church on S. Barstow, and it served them until it burned in 1909. After the fire they met for two years in the Masonic Temple, until their new church (the subject of this article) was complete in 1911. [4]
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In 1939, the MEC reunited with two breakaway Methodist denominations to form the Methodist Church. In 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church.
A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting.
The 1911 building was designed by William Linley Alban and James E. Fisher of St. Paul and built by Samuel Converse and Company for $30,000, seating 650. The floor-plan is cross-gabled with a 3-story square tower in the corner. A foundation of rock-faced limestone supports walls of smooth-cut limestone blocks. Angle buttresses reinforce the corners, and the walls of the gable ends extend as parapets above the roof. One gable peak is topped with a cross. Features that mark the Neo-Gothic Revival style are the Gothic transoms over the doors, the steeply-pitched roofs, and the irregular massing. Inside, some things have been changed, but the original pneumatic pipe organ built by W.W. Kimball and Company of Chicago still sits at the front of the sanctuary. [4]
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2017, the city's estimated population was 309,180. Saint Paul is the county seat of Ramsey County, the smallest and most densely populated county in Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city. Known as the "Twin Cities", the two form the core of Minneapolis–Saint Paul, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.6 million residents.
Limestone is a carbonate sedimentary rock that is often composed of the skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, foraminifera, and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). A closely related rock is dolostone, which contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2. In fact, in old USGS publications, dolostone was referred to as magnesian limestone, a term now reserved for magnesium-deficient dolostones or magnesium-rich limestones.
In architecture, a transom is a transverse horizontal structural beam or bar, or a crosspiece separating a door from a window above it. This contrasts with a mullion, a vertical structural member. Transom or transom window is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece. In Britain, the transom light is usually referred to as a fanlight, often with a semi-circular shape, especially when the window is segmented like the slats of a folding hand fan. A well-known example of this is at the main entrance of 10 Downing Street, London.
In 1930, First Methodist Episcopal merged with Lake Street Episcopal Church and moved to the larger building on Lake Street. The building was bought by Immanuel Lutheran, a Swedish Evangelical Lutheran congregation which had been founded in 1883. By 1930 they had outgrown their building on Oxford Ave. and Fulton Street, so bought First Episcopal's building. Immanuel stayed from 1931 to 1981, then sold it to the Unitarian Fellowship. [4]
Lutheranism is a major branch of western Christianity that identifies with the teaching of Martin Luther, a 16th century German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation. The reaction of the government and church authorities to the international spread of his writings, beginning with the 95 Theses, divided Western Christianity.
Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. As such, their congregations include many atheists, agnostics, and theists within their membership. The roots of Unitarian Universalism lie in liberal Christianity, specifically Unitarianism and universalism. Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions comes a deep regard for intellectual freedom and inclusive love. Congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions.
