First Presbyterian Church of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Contributing property
Contributing Property
First Presbyterian Church of Dallas is a historic congregation at 1835 Young Street in the Farmers Market District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). The current building is a contributing property in the Harwood Street Historic District and a Dallas Landmark. The congregation was founded in 1856 as the first U.S. (Southern) Presbyterian Church organized in Dallas, and is the mother church from which many other Presbyterian churches in the area have stemmed.
History
First Presbyterian Church of Dallas was founded February 3, 1856, by the Rev. Robert Hamilton Byers, stated supply minister for Presbyterian churches in Rusk and Henderson counties. The church began with eleven members. It lacked a formal place of worship so members met at various times in private homes, a blacksmith shop, a lumber yard, the courthouse, and a printing shop.[5]
In 1873 the congregation erected its first owned building at Elm and Ervay streets. Its second home was built in 1882 at Harwood and Main streets, the first brick church in Dallas. By 1897 this structure had been enlarged and so extensively remodeled that it was considered to be a new (third) building. The style was Victorian eclectic.
The present sanctuary and Harwood Street Educational Building at Harwood and Wood, the congregation's fourth home, were built in 1911–12 by the Alex Watson Construction Company and opened on March 2, 1913. The Greek Revival church edifice was designed by C. D. Hill & Company, a prominent Dallas architecture firm.[1] The Corinthian columns that flank the entrance doors on Harwood and Wood Streets are monolithic—the first in Dallas. Each column was shipped to Dallas on a separate flatcar from Indiana.[5]
The exterior walls contain the original pictorial windows of "art glass." These were prepared by the Kansas City Stained Glass Works Company and shipped to Dallas in 1912. The interior design is a modified Akron Plan. The Akron plan was developed by Akron, Ohio architects (1900–1920) to promote efficiency of movement by congregants between worship and Sunday School. This plan is characterized by a semicircular amphitheater with curved seating, opening to classrooms immediately adjacent to the Sanctuary.[5]
The current minister is Rev. Amos J. Disasa
Community involvement
Since its early days First Presbyterian has been providing social services in Dallas.
- First Presbyterian Church began a home to house the city's orphaned and abandoned children at Annex and Bryan Streets. Today a state historical marker stands at the entrance to the Presbyterian Children's Home and Service Agency in Itasca, Texas, tracing the institution's roots to this Dallas church.
- Children's Medical Center, adjacent to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, had its beginning as a clinic for small children in the basement of First Presbyterian Church in 1921. It was the first free clinic in the Southwest.[5]
- The congregation began its Stewpot ministry to the homeless and disadvantaged in 1975. The Stewpot and its many related ministries have received national recognition and serve as models for other churches/cities. In May 2008, First Presbyterian entered into an agreement with the city of Dallas and the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance to move the Stewpot's meal service to The Bridge, Dallas' new homeless assistance center, where they now serve 3 meals a day, 7 days a week.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ a b "City of Dallas, Texas – Designated Landmark Structures". Dallascityhall.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2013-03-17.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ Lee E. Holt (October 21, 1981). "Ordinance No. 17172" (PDF). City of Dallas. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ^ Larry E. Casto (March 31, 2018). "Ordinance No. 30812" (PDF). City of Dallas. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Welcome to First Presbyterian Church of Dallas: Our History". www.firstpresdallas.org. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26.
External links
- Architecture in Downtown Dallas - First Presbyterian Church
- v
- t
- e
Primary and secondary schools |
|
---|---|
Other education |
and complexes
- 1600 Pacific Tower (LTV Tower) (Hilton Garden Inn)
- 1700 Pacific
- 2100 Ross Avenue
- Adolphus Hotel
- Bank of America Plaza
- Bryan Tower
- Chase Tower
- Comerica Bank Tower
- Corrigan Tower
- Dallas Hilton (Hotel Indigo)
- Davis Building
- Energy Plaza
- First National Bank Tower
- Fountain Place
- Hyatt Regency Dallas
- The Joule Hotel
- Kirby Building
- KPMG Centre
- Magnolia Hotel
- Mercantile Commerce Building (AC Hotel; Residence Inn)
- Mercantile Continental Building
- Mercantile National Bank Building
- Museum Tower
- Omni Dallas Hotel
- One Arts Plaza
- One Dallas Center
- One Main Place (Westin Hotel)
- Pacific Place
- Plaza of the Americas
- Renaissance Tower
- Republic Center
- Reunion Tower
- Ross Tower
- Salazar Center
- Santa Fe Terminal Complex
- Sheraton Dallas Hotel
- Statler Hotel & Residences
- Thanksgiving Tower
- Tower Petroleum Building (Cambria Hotel Dallas)
- Trammell Crow Center
- Whitacre Tower
buildings
- Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe
- Fellowship Church
- First Baptist Church
- First Presbyterian Church of Dallas
- First United Methodist Church
- St. Jude Chapel
- St. Paul United Methodist Church
landmarks
- AT&T Performing Arts Center
- Butler Brothers Building
- Citywalk@Akard
- Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse
- Dallas City Hall
- Dallas County Courthouse (Old Red)
- Dawson State Jail (closed)
- Dallas Farmers Market
- Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
- Dallas Municipal Building
- Dallas Museum of Art
- Dallas Pedestrian Network
- Dallas Scottish Rite Temple
- Dallas World Aquarium
- Dal-Tex Building
- Dealey Plaza
- Fairmont Hotel Dallas
- Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial
- Majestic Theatre
- Manor House Apartments
- Mayflower Building
- Moody Performance Hall
- Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center
- Nasher Sculpture Center
- Neiman Marcus Building
- Old Dallas Central Library (The Dallas Morning News)
- Pioneer Plaza
- Pioneer Park Cemetery
- Sanger Harris Building (Dallas Area Rapid Transit)
- Texas School Book Depository (Dallas County Administration Building)
- Thanks-Giving Square
- Titche–Goettinger Building
- Wilson Building
DART light rail stations |
|
---|---|
Streetcar services |