Meridian Street United Methodist Church

Last updated
Meridian Street United Methodist Church, Indianapolis, IN, October 8, 2006 MSUMC 2006-10-08.jpg
Meridian Street United Methodist Church, Indianapolis, IN, October 8, 2006

Meridian Street United Methodist Church, known in its early years as Wesley Chapel, the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Meridian Street Methodist Church, is a Methodist church located at 5500 North Meridian Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. The church originated from the first Methodist congregation in Indianapolis that began in a log cabin in 1821–22 with fifty members. The congregation worshipped at several locations and erected four earlier churches on Monument Circle and along Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis before it merged with the Fifty-first Street Methodists in 1945. The first service at its North Meridian Street location was held on June 29, 1952. Designed by the architectural firm of Russ and Harrison, the Georgian-Colonial-style, red-brick church is noted for its architecture, pipe organ (one of the city’s largest), and formal parlor. The Aldersgate addition on the west side (rear) of the church was consecrated on October 4, 1989.

Contents

The church conducts midweek and Sunday worship services in addition to its ongoing religious ministry and foreign missions. During its early years, the congregation was involved in the organization of Asbury University (present-day DePauw University) and Indianapolis's Methodist Hospital. The church’s membership reached its peak in 1965 at 2,571 members, but declined in subsequent decades as the city expanded. Notable members of the congregation include former U.S. Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks; Albert J. Beveridge, a two-term U.S. senator and Pulitzer Prize-winning author; James F. Hanly, a former Indiana governor and U.S. congressman; Mary Stewart Carey, founder of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis; Calvin Fletcher, an early Indianapolis citizen who helped found the city's public school system; and industrialists and philanthropists James I. Holcomb and Herman C. Krannert.

History

Origins

The Meridian Street United Methodist Church originated from the first Methodist congregation in Indianapolis, Indiana. Initial services and the first formal religious services held in Indianapolis began in 1819 when Resin Hammond conducted services under a walnut tree. The site was near the south end of the Indiana State House and is commemorated by a plaque within the State House.

In 1821 Reverend William Cravens, an ordained minister, organized a group of Methodists who began meeting in Isaac Wilson's log cabin. On September 2, 1824, the congregation acquired a log cabin on the south side of Maryland Street between Meridian and Illinois Streets for $300 and enlarged it for use as a meetinghouse that could seat 200 people. [1] [2] [3]

Chapel on the Circle

In 1829 the congregation erected its first new church, initially called the Indianapolis Circuit or the Indianapolis Station, at the southwest corner of Meridian Street and Governor's Circle (present-day Monument Circle). The lot and small, brick church cost an estimated $3,000. The two-story church had separate entrances for males and females. [2] [4] [5]

In 1842, when the city's Methodist congregation exceeded 600 members, it divided into two smaller groups, a western and an eastern charge, using Meridian Street, a major north-south thoroughfare, as a boundary line for the new congregations. [6] The western charge, which eventually became the Meridian Street United Methodist Church congregation, remained at its chapel on the Circle. The eastern charge, which was named Roberts Chapel and later known as Roberts Park Church, relocated to a site at the northwest corner of Market and Pennsylvania Streets. (The present-day Roberts Park United Methodist Church at the northeast corner of Delaware and Vermont Streets was dedicated on August 27, 1876, as the Roberts Park Methodist Episcopal Church.) [1] [7] [8]

In 1845 the western charge was divided again. At that time the Methodist congregation on the Circle became known as the central charge, while a new western charge established Strange Chapel to serve Methodists living west of the Central Canal. In 1846 the original chapel on the Circle was demolished and replaced with a new one on the same site. The two-story, Romanesque Revival–style, which was called Wesley Chapel, cost an estimated $10,000. Its sanctuary was located on the second floor; a lecture hall, library, and study were on the first floor. The Wesley Chapel congregation remained on the Circle until it sold its chapel at public action to the Indianapolis Sentinel in 1868 for $28,000. The former church became known as the Waverly Building; it was demolished in 1922. Later, the site was developed for other commercial purposes. [1] [2] [9]

Other early sites

After the Wesley Chapel congregation left its facility on the Circle in 1869, it purchased a site to erect a new church, which was named the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church, at the southwest corner of Meridian and New York Streets. While its new stone church was under construction, the congregation worshipped at other locations. The new church cost an estimated $100,000. By 1870 the congregation's name had been changed to Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church in reference to its new location. The Gothic Revival-style church was dedicated on December 10, 1871. Its second-floor sanctuary had a seating capacity of 1,000; the lower level included a lecture hall, classrooms, a study, and a parlor. [5] [9] [10]

After the congregation's church at New York and Meridian Streets was destroyed by fire on November 17, 1904, the congregation met at the Propylaeum in University Park and elsewhere until its new church at Saint Clair and Meridian Streets was completed in 1906. The congregation was known as the Meridian Street Methodist Church from 1939 until 1968. Designed by the Indianapolis architectural firm of D. A. Bohlen and Son, the Gothic Revival-style church was constructed of Indiana limestone. The Saint Clair Street property cost $40,000; the new church cost an estimated $125,000. The church's cornerstone was laid on November 30, 1905. The facility housed the congregation until 1947. Its front facade had three oak doors beneath a large, stained-glass window. The building also included two 95-foot (29 m) towers with spires and had five stained-glass windows on each of the sanctuary’s north and south walls. The church's pipe organ contained 1,572 pipes. The congregation's last service at the Meridian and Saint Clair Street site was held on December 7, 1947. The church building, which still stands, was subsequently sold to the Indiana Business College. [10] [11]

On May 14, 1945, the Fifty-first Street Methodist Church congregation agreed to a merger with the Meridian Street Methodists. Until funds were raised to build a new church on Meridian Street, the combined congregation met at the Fifty-first Street facility, which was located at Fifty-first Street and Central Avenue. [12]

Present-day church

The architectural firm of Russ and Harrison designed the present-day Meridian Street United Methodist Church, which is located at 5500 North Meridian Street. The cost to construct the church in 1950 was $909,364. Donations to the church's building campaign and a mortgage paid for its construction. Its cornerstone was laid on September 17, 1950; the first service was held in the new building on June 29, 1952. [13]

In 1968 the church was renamed the Meridian Street United Methodist Church following a merger of the Methodist Church with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to become the United Methodist Church. [14]

Construction on the church's Aldersgate addition, which is connected to the main building, began in 1988; it was consecrated on October 4, 1989. A low bid submitted for the building project was $2.3 million. Funding for the construction came from donations made to the church's building campaign, as well as a mortgage. [15]

Description

Notable features of the church on North Meridian Street are its Georgian-Colonial-style architecture, pipe organ, and formal parlor. The two-story church, a smaller chapel to the south, and a two-story wing that connects the church to the chapel were built in the early 1950s; the Aldersgate addition on the building's west side, at the rear of the church, was built in 1988–89. The red-brick exterior has wood trim that is painted white. The church's front facade, which faces east toward Meridian Street, includes a two-story portico with four columns. A 150-foot (46 m) steeple was erected at the front edge of the church's gable roof. A domed cupola rests atop the chapel's gable roof, above its front entrance. [16]

The church's sanctuary has a seating capacity of 600; the chapel seats 100; and the lower level below the sanctuary contains a dining hall. The church's pipe organ is made by Casavant Frères of Canada and contains more than 3,500 pipes (58 ranks, each one comprising 61 pipes). It is one of the largest pipe organs in Indianapolis and cost $26,800 when it was installed in 1952. The church's formal parlor measures 28 feet (8.5 m) by 78 feet (24 m) and cost $127,000 to decorate in the early 1950s with Sheraton- and Hepplewhite-style furniture. The use of the parlor was restricted to women's group meetings and receptions, including the church's Women's Society for Christian Service group. [17]

Mission

In addition to its religious ministry, church leaders and members of the Meridian Street congregation were involved in the organization of Indiana Asbury University (renamed DePauw University in 1884) in Greencastle, Indiana. Several of its ministers and congregational members were present when the cornerstone was laid for the school's first building and served as university trustees. Over the years the Meridian Street Methodists continued to contribute to the university's endowment. [18]

The church was also involved in forming Indianapolis's Methodist Hospital. On October 10, 1899, an organizational meeting of Methodist Hospital's board of trustees was held at the Meridian Street Methodist Church. (At that time the church was located at Meridian and New York Streets.) The church also continued to support the hospital through financial gifts. Several of its members have served as trustees of the hospital. [18]

Foreign missions have been an important aspect of the church's ministry. In the past the congregation has supported missions to several countries in Africa, as well as Indonesia, Bolivia, South Korea, and China. In addition, it has supported mission trips to aid communities in the United States and provided support to the Indianapolis community through the Fletcher Place Community Center, among others. In 1965 it also acquired a camp in Cloverdale, Indiana. The facility was renamed Camp Otto in honor of Mr. and Mrs. William Otto, who were church members. [19]

The church's United Methodist Women and its predecessors, the Women's Association and the Women's Society for Christian Service, have supported the religious needs of the congregation, in addition to conducting numerous fund-raising projects to benefit the church and its various missions. [19]

Membership

The congregation formed in 1821–22 with 50 initial members; later that decade the Indianapolis Journal reported the church's membership had reached 93. By 1829 its membership had grown to 300. [20]

In 1842, when the city's Methodists was divided into two groups, the Wesley Chapel congregation, the predecessor to the Meridian Street United Methodist Church, had slightly more than 600 members. [6] After the division the Meridian Street congregation continued to grow. Author W. R. Holloway reported in his history of Indianapolis, published in 1870, that the church's membership was 504; [5] however, a history of the church published in 1995 reported its membership in 1870 was 449. The congregation did not have more than 600 members again until the mid-1890s. [21] Historian Jacob Piatt Dunn Jr. reported in Greater Indianapolis (1910) that the Meridian Street Methodist congregation had reached 753 members. [10]

In 1935, prior to the merger with the Fifty-first Street Methodists, the Meridian Street congregation had fallen to 566 members. The merged congregation reached its peak in 1965 at 2,571 members, but declined as the city expanded in the 1970s and 1980s. New and even larger congregations moved to new facilities north of downtown Indianapolis and surpassed the Meridian Street Methodist Church's membership in the 1990s. [21]

Men have dominated the mostly all-white congregation's decision-making authority since the early years of its history. Very few women held leadership positions in the church prior to the merger with the Fifty-first Street Methodists in 1945. Leadership changes were slow to occur. In the 1990s the conservative and formal worship services continued to attract predominantly white, upper-middle-class members who lived in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. By 1995 about one-third of the church's elected administrative board were women and one-third of its trustees were women; a few women served on its finance and pastor-parish relations committees. [22]

Notable members

Worship services

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 The History of Nine Urban Churches. Indianapolis, Indiana: The Riley-Lockerbie Ministerial Association of Downtown Indianapolis.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jacob Piatt Dunn Jr. (1977). Greater Indianapolis: The History, the Industries, the Institutions, and the People of a City of Homes. Vol. I (reprint ed.). Evansville, Indiana: Unigraphic. pp. 85–86, 593. OCLC   247485913.
  3. ↑ Daniel F. Evans (1996). At Home in Indiana for One Hundred and Seventy-Five Years: The History of Meridian Street United Methodist Church, 1821–1996. Indianapolis, Indiana: Guild Press of Indiana. pp.  17–18. ISBN   1878208799.
  4. ↑ Evans, pp. 19, 63.
  5. 1 2 3 W. R. Holloway (1870). Indianapolis: A Historical and Statistical Sketch of the Railroad City, A Chronicle of its Social, Municipal, Commercial and Manufacturing Progress with Full Statistical Tables. Indianapolis, Indiana: Indianapolis Journal. p. 226. OCLC   2486218. OL   7229155M.
  6. 1 2 Bodenhamer, David J. (1994). David J. Bodenhamer and Robert G. Barrows (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 1203. ISBN   0-253-31222-1.
  7. ↑ Dunn, pp. 85–86, 593–95; Evans, p. 63.
  8. ↑ Roberts Chapel was named in honor of Bishop Robert R. Roberts, the first Methodist bishop to live in Indiana. Roberts Park United Methodist Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. See: "Roberts Park Methodist Episcopal Church". U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Retrieved 2017-08-16. See also: Ruby J. Cord (1979-08-13). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory–Nomination Form: Roberts Park Methodist Episcopal Church" (pdf). U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  9. 1 2 Evans, pp. 21–22, 63.
  10. 1 2 3 Dunn, p. 594.
  11. ↑ Evans, pp. 25–28, 63.
  12. ↑ Evans, pp. 28, 30.
  13. ↑ Evans, pp. 31, 35–40.
  14. ↑ Evans, p. 63.
  15. ↑ Evans, pp. 46–49.
  16. ↑ Evans, pp. 25–31, 35–40, and 46–49.
  17. ↑ Evans, pp. 35–42, 45.
  18. 1 2 Evans, pp. 103–5.
  19. 1 2 Evans, pp. 107–14.
  20. ↑ Evans, pp. 19–21, 65–66.
  21. 1 2 Evans, pp. 65–66, 72.
  22. ↑ Evans, pp. 74–75.
  23. ↑ Evans, p. 21.
  24. ↑ Edward A. Leary (1971). Indianapolis: The Story of a City. Indianapolis, Indiana: The Bobbs-Merrill Company. pp. 184–85. OCLC   112940.
  25. ↑ Evans, p. 17.
  26. ↑ Evans, p. 166.
  27. ↑ Evans, pp. 104, 166–67.
  28. 1 2 Evans, p. 168–70.
  29. ↑ Evans, p. 172.
  30. ↑ Evans, pp. 21, 24.
  31. 1 2 "Worship Times". Meridian Street United Methodist Church. Retrieved 2017-08-16.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Indianapolis</span>

The history of Indianapolis spans three centuries. Founded in 1820, the area where the city now stands was originally home to the Lenape. In 1821, a small settlement on the west fork of the White River at the mouth of Fall Creek became the county seat of Marion County, and the state capital of Indiana, effective January 1, 1825. Initially the availability of federal lands for purchase in central Indiana made it attractive to the new settlement; the first European Americans to permanently settle in the area arrived around 1819 or early 1820. In its early years, most of the new arrivals to Indianapolis were Europeans and Americans with European ancestry, but later the city attracted other ethnic groups. The city's growth was encouraged by its geographic location, 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of the state's geographic center. In addition to its designation as a seat of government, Indianapolis's flat, fertile soil, and central location within Indiana and the Midwest, helped it become an early agricultural center. Its proximity to the White River, which provided power for the town's early mills in the 1820s and 1830s, and the arrival of the railroads, beginning in 1847, established Indianapolis as a manufacturing hub and a transportation center for freight and passenger service. An expanding network of roads, beginning with the early National Road and the Michigan Road, among other routes, connected Indianapolis to other major cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nast Trinity United Methodist Church</span> United States historic place

The former Nast Trinity United Methodist Church, now known as The Warehouse Church, is a historic congregation of the United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Designed by leading Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford and completed in 1880, it was the home of the first German Methodist church to be established anywhere in the world, and it was declared a historic site in the late twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Street Methodist Church</span> United States historic place

The John Street United Methodist Church – also known as Old John Street Methodist Episcopal Church – located at 44 John Street between Nassau and William Streets in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City was built in 1841 in the Georgian style, with the design attributed to William Hurry and/or Philip Embury. The congregation is the oldest Methodist congregation in North America, founded on October 12, 1766 as the Wesleyan Society in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church Cathedral (Indianapolis)</span> Historic church in Indiana, United States

Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral for the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis. Christ Church parish was formally organized in 1837. The present-day church building was erected in 1857 on Monument Circle at the center of downtown Indianapolis to replace the parish's first church built on the same site. Designed by architect William Tinsley, the English Gothic Revival-style structure is the oldest church building in Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana, that has remained in continuous use. It is also the oldest building on Monument Circle. Christ Church is known for its music, especially its pipe organs, one of which was donated by Ruth Lilly, and its professional Choir of Men and Boys and Girls' Choir. The parish is also known for its community service, including an annual strawberry festival fundraiser and other charitable work. Christ Church Cathedral was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 10, 1973. It is located in the Washington Street-Monument Circle Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Market Street United Methodist Church</span> Historic church in North Carolina, United States

West Market Street United Methodist Church(WMSUMC) is one of the oldest churches in Greensboro, North Carolina, and is over 190 years old; WMSUMC is located in downtown Greensboro across from the courthouse. It is a relatively large church with approximately 1700 members, though not all are active. The current sanctuary was constructed between 1893 and 1898; it was the third sanctuary built by the congregation. Today, the church has expanded, with a larger educational complex adjacent to the sanctuary, and other properties, including an Early Childhood Center, held at nearby. The Senior Pastor is the Reverend Beth Crissman, with Associate Pastor the Reverend Jeremy Benton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evans Memorial Chapel</span> Oldest continuously-used Protestant building in Denver

The Evans Memorial Chapel is an historic chapel on the campus of the University of Denver in Colorado. It is the oldest continuously-used building for religious purposes in Denver. Completed in 1878, the Evans Memorial Chapel was built with patronage by John Evans in honor of his daughter Josephine. Evans was governor of the Colorado Territory and a founder of the Colorado Seminary. Formerly part of Grace Church, a prominent Methodist Episcopal congregation on 13th Avenue and Bannock in downtown Denver, the small chapel was moved to the University of Denver's campus in 1959. It reopened there in April 1960, and is now the campus's oldest building. It currently serves as an interdenominational chapel and wedding venue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nardin Park United Methodist Church</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

Nardin Park United Methodist Church is a Methodist church situated in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Nardin Park was first formed in 1927 by the union of two large churches in northwest Detroit - the Grand River Avenue Church, established in 1891, and the Ninde Church, organized in 1886. The name 'Nardin Park' was taken from the park and the subdivision where the church was located Nardin Park United Methodist Church was officially listed in Michigan's register of historic sites on September 21, 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanicsburg Baptist Church</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

The Mechanicsburg Baptist Church is a historic church in the village of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, United States. Constructed for a Methodist congregation in the late nineteenth century, the building was taken over by Baptists after the original occupants vacated it, and it has been named a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's United Methodist Church (Davenport, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

St. John's United Methodist Church is located in central Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First United Methodist Church (London, Ohio)</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

First United Methodist Church is a historic congregation of the United Methodist Church in downtown London, Ohio, United States. Founded in London's earliest years, the congregation worships in a historic church building that was built in the 1890s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wentworth Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery</span> Historic church in North Carolina, United States

Wentworth Methodist Episcopal Church, South and Cemetery, also known as Wentworth United Methodist Church, is a historic Methodist church located at Wentworth, Rockingham County, North Carolina.

<i>Plaque Commemorating First Formal Religious Service, Indianapolis</i> (Howard Petty)

Plaque Commemorating First Formal Religious Service , is a public artwork by American artist Howard Petty, located on the Indiana Statehouse, in Indianapolis. It was created in 1923 and set in the statehouse in 1924. It commemorates the first religious services held in Indianapolis in 1819 and the first organized church in 1821. The plaque is made of bronze and depicts a walnut tree in the foreground with a log cabin in the background. It is approximately 22 inches (560 mm) wide by 35.5 inches (900 mm) high and has a depth of .75 inches (19 mm).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethel A.M.E. Church (Indianapolis, Indiana)</span> Historic church in Indiana, United States

The Bethel A.M.E. Church, known in its early years as Indianapolis Station or the Vermont Street Church, is a historic African Methodist Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Organized in 1836, it is the city's oldest African-American congregation. The three-story church on West Vermont Street dates to 1869 and was added to the National Register in 1991. The surrounding neighborhood, once the heart of downtown Indianapolis's African American community, significantly changed with post-World War II urban development that included new hotels, apartments, office space, museums, and the Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis campus. In 2016 the congregation sold their deteriorating church, which will be used in a future commercial development. The congregation built a new worship center at 6417 Zionsville Road in Pike Township, Marion County, Indiana.

Trinity United Methodist Church, the first church in Lafayette, Indiana, was established in 1824, before the city was founded. The first meetings were held in the old log courthouse; the church was formally organized in 1827 with ten members. Trinity United Methodist is located at 314 North Sixth Street in Lafayette, Indiana 47901.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Presbyterian Church (Indianapolis, Indiana)</span> Church in Indiana, United States

Second Presbyterian Church is a historic congregation located at 7700 North Meridian Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. With 4,049 members as of 2013, it is one of the largest congregations in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Diedrich Augustus Bohlen a native of Cadenberge, Kingdom of Hanover, immigrated to the United States around 1851 and founded D. A. Bohlen, Architect, in 1853 at Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1971 it became Bohlen, Meyer, Gibson and Associates, and is among the oldest architectural firms in the United States still in operation. Bohlen is best known for introducing the German Neo-Gothic architecture style to Indiana. Bohlen and his firm specialized in institutional projects, especially civic, religious, and educational buildings. More than forty of the firm's projects are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including several of D. A. Bohlen's designs: Morris-Butler House (1864); Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church (1871), its rectory (1863), and bishop's residence (1878); Indianapolis's Roberts Park Methodist Church (1876) and Crown Hill Cemetery's Gothic Chapel (1877); and in collaboration with his son, Oscar D. Bohlen, the Indianapolis City Market (1886). The combined campus of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods make up the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Historic District, the largest cohesive collection of Bohlen buildings. The District is of statewide significance on the National Register of Historic Places, for its contribution to architectural, educational and religious history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberts Park Methodist Episcopal Church</span> Historic church in Indiana, United States

Roberts Park Methodist Episcopal Church, whose present-day name is Roberts Park United Methodist Church, was dedicated on August 27, 1876, making it one of the oldest church remaining in downtown Indianapolis. Diedrich A. Bohlen, a German-born architect who immigrated to Indianapolis in the 1850s, designed this early example of Romanesque Revival architecture. The church is considered one of Bohlen's major works. Constructed of Indiana limestone at Delaware and Vermont Streets, it has a rectangular plan and includes a bell tower on the southwest corner. The church is known for its interior woodwork, especially a pair of black-walnut staircases leading to galleries (balconies) surrounding the interior of three sides of its large sanctuary. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1982. It is home to one of several Homeless Jesus statues around the world, this one located behind the church on Alabama Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mt. Pisgah Lutheran Church</span> Historic church in Indiana, United States

Mount Pisgah Lutheran Church, also known in its early years as the First Lutheran Church and First English Lutheran Church and more recently as The Sanctuary on Penn, is located at 701 North Pennsylvania Street in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The historic church was built by the city's first Lutheran congregation, which organized in 1837, and was its third house of worship. The former church, whose present-day name is The Sanctuary on Penn, is operated as a for-profit event venue.

Central Christian Church, also known in its early years as the Church of Christ in Indianapolis and Christian Chapel, is located at 701 North Delaware Street in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Its members formally organized on June 12, 1833, as the city's first Christian Church congregation. The congregation formally adopted the name of Central Christian Church on February 3, 1879. Its red brick and stone masonry Romanesque Revival-style church was dedicated in 1893. Building additions were completed in 1913 and in 1922. The church continues to serve the Indianapolis community and holds weekly worship services.

References

Coordinates: 39°51′08″N86°09′29″W / 39.85222°N 86.15807°W / 39.85222; -86.15807

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.