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NPS Form 10-900 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form OMB No. 1024-0018 1. Name of Property Historic Name: First Methodist Church Other name/site number: First United Methodist Church (current) Name of related multiple property listing: NA 2. Location Street & number: 1201-1203 Lavaca Street State: Texas City or town: Austin Vicinity:  Not for publication:  County: Travis 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this ( nomination  request for determination of eligibility) meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property ( meets  does not meet) the National Register criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following levels of significance:  national  statewide  local Applicable National Register Criteria:  A  B  C  D Signature of certifying official / Title State Historic Preservation Officer ___________________________ Date Texas Historical Commission State or Federal agency / bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property  meets  does not meet the National Register criteria. _______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________ Signature of commenting or other official Date ____________________________________________________________ State or Federal agency / bureau or Tribal Government 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that the property is: ___ entered in the National Register ___ determined eligible for the National Register ___ determined not eligible for the National Register. ___ removed from the National Register ___ other, explain: _____________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas 5. Classification Ownership of Property X Private Public - Local Public - State Public - Federal Category of Property X building(s) district site structure object Number of Resources within Property Contributing Noncontributing 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 buildings sites structures objects total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register: 0 6. Function or Use Historic Functions: RELIGIOUS: Church Current Functions: RELIGIOUS: Church 7. Description Architectural Classification: Neoclassical Revival; Modern Movement Principal Exterior Materials: Brick; Stone; Stained Glass Narrative Description (see continuation sheets 7-16) Page 2 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas 8. Statement of Significance Applicable National Register Criteria: C Criteria Considerations: Criteria Consideration A (Religious Properties) Areas of Significance: (specify level of significance for each) Architecture (local level) Period of Significance: 1922-1928; 1952 Significant Dates: 1922; 1952 Significant Person (only if criterion b is marked): NA Cultural Affiliation (only if criterion d is marked): NA Architect/Builder: Sanguinet-Staats-Hedrick (1922); Roy L. Thomas (1922-1928); Carl Henry Stautz (1952) Narrative Statement of Significance (see continuation sheets17-33) 9. Major Bibliographic References Bibliography (see continuation sheet 34-37) Previous documentation on file (NPS): preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested. Part 1 approved on (date) previously listed in the National Register previously determined eligible by the National Register designated a National Historic Landmark recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey # recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # Primary location of additional data: X State historic preservation office (Texas Historical Commission, Austin) Other state agency Federal agency X Local government (Austin History Center) University X Other -- Specify Repository: (First United Methodist Church archives) Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned): Page 3 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property: Less than 1 acre Coordinates Latitude/Longitude Coordinates Datum if other than WGS84: NA Latitude: 30.274833° Longitude: -97.742587° Verbal Boundary Description: Travis CAD Property ID# 196998: LOT 1-3 * PLUS S1/2 OF ADJ VAC ALLEY BLOCK 148 ORIGINAL CITY and sketched on MAP 2. Boundary Justification: The boundaries contain resources historically associated with First Methodist Church (First United Methodist Church), including the sanctuary and religious education building. 11. Form Prepared By Name/title: Terri Myers, historian; Kristen Brown, architectural historian Organization: Preservation Central Street & number: 823 Harris Avenue City or Town: Austin Email: Telephone: (512) 478-0898 Date: March 21, 2024 Zip Code: 78705 State: Texas Additional Documentation Maps (see continuation sheets 38-39) Additional items (see continuation sheets 40-56) Photographs (see continuation sheets 57-84) Page 4 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photograph Log Photographer: Photos 1-27 by Terri Myers, dates as noted; Photo 28 in Church Archives Photo 1: Scaffolding currently covers First Methodist Church for the ongoing restoration. The 1952 Education Building is in the foreground and the 1962 Westgate Tower (NRHP 2010) is in the background. Looking southeast. Photo 2: FUMC Main Building, built 1922-1928, west – primary - facade, camera facing east. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Photo 3: FUMC Main Building, south façade, setting with trees and esplanade along 12th Street, camera facing north. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Photo 4: Setting - State Capitol Building and grounds to the rear (east) of FUMC Main Building, , camera facing east/northeast. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Photo 5: FUMC Main Building, oblique view, south (12th Street side) and east (Colorado Street side) facades, camera facing northwest. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Photo 6: FUMC Main Building, oblique, east, and north elevations, camera facing west/southwest. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Photo 7: Exterior of the dome, looking west. (11 20 2026). Photo 8: Narthex, looking northeast. Photo 9: Sanctuary, looking east. Photo 10: Sanctuary, looking southwest. Photo 11: Dome and oculus on sanctuary ceiling. Photo 12: Balcony detail, looking south. Photo 13: Original window in sanctuary, looking south. Photo 14: Detail of original pews and long-leaf pine floors. Photo 15: View of sanctuary from balcony, looking southwest. Photo 16: Original balcony seating and wood floor. Photo 17: Darting and pilaster detail on balcony wall, looking northeast. Photo 18: Jacoby stained glass windows on south balcony wall. Photo 19: Alterations to wall material in stairwell. Page 5 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 20: Basement threshold from 1928 Main Building to 1952 Education Building, looking north. Photo 21: West elevation of 1952 Education Building, looking east. Photo 22: Detail façade of 1952 Education Building. Photo 23: The two buildings are connected by breezeways on the street-level and internally connected at the basement level. Looking east. Photo 24: North elevation, 1952 Education Building, looking south. Photo 25: FUMC campus between Main Building (left) and Education Building (right), east side of fenced breezeway, camera facing west. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Photo 26: East elevation, Education Building, looking west. Photo 27: Cornerstone of 1952 Education Building on east façade. Photo 28: Murchison Chapel inside 1952 Education Building, camera facing east. (8/1/2023) Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.460 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 100 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering, and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Office of Planning and Performance Management. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1849 C. Street, NW, Washington, DC. Page 6 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Narrative Description First Methodist Church (now First United Methodist Church) of Austin, Travis County, consists of two resources: the 1922-1928 Main Building and the adjacent 1952 Education Building. The Main Building is a monumental Greek Revival subtype of the Neoclassical Revival style, with a large central dome and full-façade pedimented entablatures. The building has buff brick walls with limestone and cast stone decorative elements. The primary façade faces west toward Lavaca Street and features a pedimented portico and eight monumental, full-height columns with Ionic capitals. A similar arrangement is found on the south side elevation, where eight engaged columns alternate with stained glass windows on the third and fourth floors. The stained-glass windows correspond to the sanctuary and balcony, which span the third and fourth floors; some stained-glass windows are also found in the parlor, the kitchen, and elsewhere in the Main Building. The Main Building, which contains the third-floor sanctuary and fourth floor balconies, possesses a high level of integrity with intact historic details, exterior ornament, stained glass and wood sash windows, and decorative plaster sanctuary ceiling. The three-story Education Building, which occupies a lot north of the Main Building, houses a chapel, church offices, and classrooms. The building is a flat-roofed, Modern style building with buff brick walls and minimal limestone detailing such as copings, stylized pilasters, corner cladding, and door and window surrounds. The third-story Murchison Chapel features stained glass lancet windows along its north and south walls and a large skylight with an openwork grille-like-pattern. The Education Building has good integrity, particularly on its exterior, where the only alterations are replacement anodized aluminum windows. The two buildings share a narrow courtyard and are connected via a hyphen and breezeway.1 Location and Setting First Methodist Church is in downtown Austin at 1201 Lavaca Street at the corner of West 12th Street. The church consists of a Main Building and an Educational Building which occupy several lots immediately west of the State Capitol grounds. The downtown Austin street grid is skewed at a slight angle, with Lavaca Street running in a south- southwest to north-northeast angle. The surrounding blocks to the north, west, and south contain a mix of commercial, civic, ecclesiastical, and high-density residential property types. The rectangular parcel containing the Main Building and the Education Building covers approximately 0.5 acres in size and corresponds to Lots 1-3 plus the southern half of a vacated alley in Block 148. The alley is now used as site access and parking for the church. The Main Building is in the south section of the parcel at the northeast corner of Lavaca and West 12th, while the Education Building lies just north of the Main Building near the center of the block. The two buildings are separated by a 15-foot open breezeway and are connected by a short hyphen – a walkway with a simple metal guardrail and handrails – at the upper level.2 Today, the church complex also includes the Family Life Center across the street at the northwest corner of Lavaca and West 13th Streets. The original building on the site, the H. M. Oetting Furniture Store, was entirely demolished; the building was substantially redesigned for the new center in 1997 and is not part of this nomination. The topography in this section of the city slopes downhill from west (west-northwest) to east (east-southeast) The church parcel is approximately fifteen feet lower in elevation at its east (rear) edge than at its west (front) edge. Because of this slope, the front elevation of the Main Building rises two stories above grade with a raised porch, while the rear elevation has four stories. The parcel also has a subtle northward downhill pitch along the Lavaca Street 1 See National Register of Historic Places, “Considering Parking Lots,” Best Practices Review 11 (April 2025). 2 The original cast stone balustrade was replaced due to its deteriorated condition and the fact that it did not meet code (Sandy Stone comments on second draft nomination, April 12, 2024). Page 7 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas elevation, losing approximately seven feet from the south corner of the Main Building to the north corner of the Education Building. Lavaca Street, which passes in front of both church buildings on the west, measures approximately 52 feet across and contains several lanes of traffic and parking, while West 12th Street to the south is a boulevard with a landscaped center median.3 Behind the Church to the east is Colorado Street, which runs along the western edge of the Texas Capitol and its landscaped grounds (Photo 4). Along all three streets around the buildings are wide concrete sidewalks and regularly spaced trees: live oaks on 12th and Lavaca Streets, and chinquapin oaks on Colorado Street. The south elevation along West 12th also has a narrow strip of grass and a row of low hedges between the sidewalk and the building. A parking lot reserved for church use occupies the remainder of the block to the north outside of the nominated boundary. Its construction did not coincide with the Education Building, and it is not considered a contributing structure. First Methodist Church, Main Building, 1922-1928 Beginning in 2024, the church underwent major rehabilitation to address deteriorating exterior architectural elements on the Main Building. This multi-year project adhered to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, emphasizing the repair of historic features and the careful replacement of materials only when necessary. This was performed under the supervision of the Texas Historical Commission Division of Architecture and the Texas Historic Tax Credit Program.4 Despite the extensive work, the United Methodist Church retains the majority of its historic fabric and craftsmanship, preserving its architectural significance and ensuring the building can continue serving its congregation for generations to come. Specific information about the project and replacement materials is summarized on pages 14-15. Exterior The First United Methodist Main Building is a large, temple-front Neoclassical building whose rectangular footprint measures roughly 90 feet along its front and rear and 138 feet along its sides. Functionally, the building is four stories in height but has the appearance of a two-story building on its front elevation, with a raised platform lending it additional height and monumental proportions (Photo 2). The rear elevation on the downhill side of the sloping site has the appearance of three and a half stories (Photo 5). The lowest floor, the sub-basement, is a daylight basement and is not identifiable other than from within the courtyard between the Main Building and the Education Building. The four stories of the Main Building are: first floor (sub-basement), containing utilitarian spaces, classrooms, Wesley Hall gathering space and the choir room; second floor (basement), containing classrooms and storage plus the double height spaces of the choir room and Wesley Hall; third floor (main level/sanctuary level), containing the church sanctuary, narthex, and chancel and parlor; and fourth floor (balcony level), containing balcony seating with views down into the sanctuary, cry room and organ chamber.5 The Main Building walls are buff-colored brick with cream-colored limestone and cast stone decorative elements. Windows throughout the building are a mix of fixed, casement, and double-hung wood windows. All windows have 3 When the church was built, Lavaca Street was also a boulevard with grassy medians separating two lanes through a residential neighborhood north of 13th Street. However, as downtown Austin became more intensely developed and traffic increased after World War II, the medians were removed for additional lanes. 4 The Texas Historic Preservation Tax Credit (THPTC) can be applied to either the Texas Franchise Tax or the Texas Insurance Premium Tax, which most THPTC applicants (even for-profit businesses) do not pay. Upon completion of an architectural project, the credit is designed to be sold to a tax-paying corporation, returning cash to the applicant. Nonprofit organizations can sell their credits directly to corporations they know or can utilize the services of a credit broker to connect them with new corporations. For more, see https://thc.texas.gov/preserve/grants-tax-credits-and-funding/historic-preservation-tax-credits/texas-historic. 5 Sandy Stone comments on second draft nomination, April 12, 2024. Page 8 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas simple stone sills, and windows in the brick third and fourth floors have brick surrounds. Some window and door replacements have occurred, where wood basement doors were replaced with white sliding doors, and various wood entrance doors on the sanctuary level were replaced with dark-colored aluminum windows and doors. The roof is cross gabled with a shallow roof pitch and central dome. The dome is thirty-two feet in diameter and is set on an octagonal base that extends multiple feet above roof level. Both the main roof and the dome are clad in metal (Photo 7). The building’s Neoclassical Revival design motifs are drawn primarily from Greek architecture and include Ionic columns, pediments, relief sculptures, and a dentilled cornice. The west elevation faces Lavaca Street and displays the building’s primary floors (third and fourth floors – main (sanctuary) level and balcony level). The front façade is symmetrical and consists of a columned entrance portico with entablature and pediment. The building is raised six feet six inches on an elevated base; a poured concrete entrance staircase extends the length of the front façade. Since Lavaca Street slopes gently, the stairway has thirteen steps at its north end and ten steps at its south end, with several steps “disappearing” on a diagonal in accord with the slope. At each end of the wide stairway is a blocky stone side wall with decorative molding around its top. The front façade has seven bays. The entrance portico features eight large, stone columns spaced evenly across the front of the building (Photo 2). Each column is twenty-seven feet tall from the bottom of the base to the top of the capital, and approximately three feet wide. The columns have fluted shafts with entasis, Ionic capitals, and small molded column bases. Each column is supported by a pedestal that sits on the top four steps of the long entrance stairway. With the columns placed over the staircase in that manner, the shallow entrance porch is uninterrupted by columns and pedestrians can freely walk the length of the portico behind the colonnade. Behind the columns is the front wall of the building. Its seven bays are arranged in an ABCCCBA pattern, with the central five bays recessed more deeply than the outer two bays. The outermost bays (“A” bays) each have a shallow brick pilaster at the building corners, and a larger, blocky pilaster at the edge where the central entrance bays recess. The pilasters each have simple stone bases and capitals with dentilled moldings. Each outer bay has a single, narrow, double-hung wood window midway between the third and fourth floors. A stone string course runs above the narrow windows. Below that stringcourse, the bricks are laid in a running bond, while above the stringcourse the bricks are laid in a basketweave pattern. The recessed inner five bays are identical on the fourth floor, with each containing a single arched, stained-glass window. Each window has a central light with an arched top, two rectangular “sidelights,” and four voussoir-shaped lights curving above the central light. Above the curved window tops are brick arches with a cast stone keystone. Partial-height brick pilasters separate each bay, with the capitals located at the midway point of the window height. Below each window is a brick spandrel of basketweave bricks containing a round cast medallion with a book, likely the Bible, and laurel leaf motif. The third floor of the central five bays contains the BCCCB pattern, with the central three bays each containing a double entrance with replacement aluminum and glass doors. The bays just outside of these (the “B” bays) each have a stained-glass casement window with four narrow vertical lights topped by a three- light transom. The replacement doors in the “C” bays are each double glass doors with a single transom and aluminum frames. Above the Ionic columns is a large Classical entablature and pediment. The entablature features a molded, stone architrave and a brick frieze containing central stone sign displaying FIRST METHODIST CHURCH in block letters. Above the frieze is a dentilled cornice. The pediment features a dentilled raking cornice and a tympanum with relief sculptures at each corner of the cornice; at the central peak are acroteria with palmette designs. The east elevation faces Colorado Street and the Texas Capitol (Photos 5-6). This elevation is three-and-a-half stories in height, with just under sixty-five feet from sidewalk to roof peak compared to the front elevation’s fifty-two feet. Page 9 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas The sub-basement level which is visible on the rear elevation, corresponds to the building’s first floor (sub-basement plus a portion of the first floor daylight sub-basement). It is approximately nineteen feet tall and is clad in smooth ashlar stones in regular, two-foot-tall courses. This creates a tall “base” and presents the building’s main floor as a piano noble. Across the stone-clad basement level are seven bays with fenestration in a ABCACBA pattern. The outermost bays and the central bay each have a single entrance door topped with a simple stone pediment. The doors have been replaced by aluminum and glass doors with transoms and narrow sidelights. The next bays in from each corner (the “B” bays) each have two window openings, stacked vertically with a larger opening at grade, a smaller opening above it, and a carved stone panel between the two openings. The lower window in the northern bay has been replaced by a louvered screen. The “C” bays each contain a single window – originally a door – opening topped with a carved stone panel. Along the top of the stone base is a decorative molding. Above the basement level, the upper two floors of the building are similar to the front elevation, with a buff-colored brick field and a temple-front design. The seven bays are delineated by eight engaged columns with fluted shafts and Ionic capitals that match the columns on the front elevation. Between the columns, the seven bays have fenestration in an ABBBBBA pattern. The outermost two bays each have a single, narrow window between the third and fourth floors. The inner five bays each have arched, stained-glass windows at fourth-floor level and stained-glass casement windows on the third-floor level. These two window types are identical to those found on the front elevation. Unadorned brick spandrels separate the upper and lower windows. At cornice level, the rear elevation is identical to the front elevation, with a dentilled cornice, brick frieze with FIRST METHODIST CHURCH block letters, pediment with sculpture, and acroteria with palmette designs. The south side elevation is longer than the front and rear elevations with nine bays instead of seven (Photos 3 & 5). This side elevation faces south-southwest toward 12th Street. On this elevation, the temple-front design is limited to the central seven bays to match the proportions of the other elevations, while the outermost two bays each extend past the edge of the entablature and pediment. The basement level is clad in smooth ashlar stone to match the rear elevation, but on this elevation the treatment follows the downward slope of the street toward the east. The westernmost basement bay has a small projecting entrance porch that provides access to a side entry door on the second floor – the basement level. Historically the porch had a simple stone balustrade topped with molded handrail, but the porch was modified to include an ADA ramp and the railing was replaced with brick openwork. Moving east along the basement, the fenestration varies slightly – small, paired windows in the second bay, single windows in the third through fifth bays, paired windows in the sixth bay, and a smaller single window in the seventh bay at the east corner. The windows have simple stone sills, but no decorative panels as found on the rear elevation. The windows of the daylight sub- basement (first floor) are partially visible at the eastern end of the elevation, at the lowest point of the slope. The third and fourth floors of the south side elevation are similar to the rear, but with slight variation. The nine bays of the upper floors are almost symmetrical, with an ABCCCCCBD pattern and eight engaged Ionic columns between the bays. At the small side porch, the westernmost bay has a pedimented entry with aluminum and glass replacement doors and transom on the third floor. The second floor has a single double-hung window, and in the field between the second - basement level - floor door and fourth floor window is a small decorative terra cotta panel with a swag design. The second bay from the west has a small vertical stained glass window with transom on the third floor, and on the fourth floor is a blind window with brick archivolts. The central five bays each have the same set of windows found on the front and rear elevations – stained glass casement windows on the third floor and arched stained glass windows on the fourth floor. The eighth bay (second in from the east) is the same as the second bay, with a small window with transom on the third floor and an arched blind window on the fourth floor. The outermost bay at the east corner has a single double-hung window on each floor. At the top of the façade is the same entablature and pediment found on the front and rear elevations. Page 10 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas The north side elevation faces north-northeast toward the Education Building. The basement level of this elevation is partially obscured from view by the proximity of the Education Building, the gated central courtyard, and the hyphen that connects the two buildings (Photo 23). As with the south side, the north side elevation slopes downward to the east, but here the basement and sub-basement levels are clad in buff brick other than the easternmost corner bay, which is clad in stone to match the rear elevation. The basement window pattern matches that of the south elevation, apart from the westernmost bay, which is covered by the connecting hyphen. The ground immediately north of the building was excavated to create a flat courtyard, so it is not sloped as it is on the south side of the building. This allowed room to expose several windows and doors of the sub-basement level, to provide access to the courtyard. The upper floors on the north side are similar to those on the south side, with the notable difference of brick pilasters instead of fluted engaged columns. The original column capitals at this location were removed for safety reasons and replaced with simpler capitals.6 The original capitals can be seen in early photographs of the Education Building while the replacement capitals are visible on current photographs of the same building. The westernmost north side elevation bay on the first floor has a pedimented entrance door to match the one on the south elevation. However, instead of a small entrance porch at the corner, the north elevation has a slightly elevated walkway that functions as a hyphen between the Main Building and the Education Building. The walkway had cast stone balustrades for handrails that have been replaced by simple metal rails and handrails for safety reasons; it is accessed by a short set of stairs. To either side of the stairway are stairs that descend from street level to a breezeway at the basement level under the upper walkway. Also underneath the walkway is an enclosed section of hyphen that provides interior access between the two buildings at sub-basement and courtyard levels. The lowest level of enclosed hyphen at the courtyard is not visible from Lavaca Street. Prior to its recent rehabilitation, few alterations have been made to the exterior of the Main Building. Some repairs were conducted to the exterior of the Main Building to address cast stone failures including in situ repairs and limited removal of cast stone pieces. The column capitals on the north elevation of the building were removed, and the cast stone cornice pieces below the pediments were removed and plastered over. Other changes include the aforementioned replacement of some of the subbasement windows on the north and south elevations, and replacement of the original wood entrance doors with aluminum doors and transoms. The other changes were limited to the interior, where new permanent walls were installed on the sub-basement and basement levels to replace the movable panels that originally divided the previously large open spaces on both floors, new flooring, drop ceilings, cabinetry, and countertops were installed in the utilitarian spaces and offices.7 In 2024, the church began a restoration and rehabilitation campaign that is now nearing completion (See “Integrity” on page 19 for details). Interior The FUMC Main Building has 37,773 square feet of space across four floors. The third and fourth floors (sanctuary and balcony levels) have a high level of integrity. As noted, the four stories of the Main Building are: first floor (sub- basement), containing utilitarian spaces, classrooms, Wesley Hall gathering space and the choir room; second floor (basement), containing classrooms and storage plus the double height spaces of the choir room and Wesley Hall; third floor (main level/sanctuary level), containing the church sanctuary, narthex, parlor and chancel; and fourth floor (balcony level), containing balcony seating with views down into the sanctuary, the cry room and organ chamber. Interior stairwells are located at the northwest, northeast, and southeast corners of the building, and an elevator is located at the southwest corner. 6 Sandy Stone, comments on first draft nomination, 2023. 7 Sandy Stone comments on first draft nomination 2023. Page 11 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas The first floor sub-basement contains Wesley Hall, which served as the sanctuary from 1923 to 1928 before the rest of the church was constructed. Wesley Hall is located near the center of the building and is a two-story interior space spanning both the first and second floor levels. The historic arrangement of the hall is evident despite being altered. The walls around the room show the double-height columns that support a beamed ceiling. Originally the walls were open between the columns, with additional lower-floor seating behind them and balcony seating between them on the upper floor. The walls have now been infilled between the columns, but the balcony railing is visible along the upper wall sections. The beamed ceiling is still visible around the edges of a modern drop ceiling. Each column has a simple capital. The choir room at the east end of the first floor is also a double-height space. The rest of the first floor is a mix of mechanical rooms, classrooms, and offices, all of which have modern finishes such as carpet, fire doors, and fluorescent lighting. The second floor basement level has two sections that are open to below – Wesley Hall near the center and the Choir Room at the east end. The rest of the second floor consists of storage rooms, classrooms, and an archive room, arranged in a ring around Wesley Hall. These rooms also have modern finishes. The third floor is the main level that contains the sanctuary. The three entry doors at the main entrance on the west elevation open into a rectangular narthex (Photo 8). Short hallways at either end of the narthex lead to an office and stairwell to the north and restrooms and the elevator to the south. Three doors at the west end of the narthex lead into the sanctuary. The sanctuary is a large double-height space with a chancel at the east end. At the chancel is a raised dais with a curved outer edge and a choir that is raised further. Behind the choir is the organ, and to either side of the dais are doors leading to the sacristy, the parlor, a storeroom, and the stairwells at the rear building corners. The sanctuary retains its historic configuration and architectural details (Photos 9-14). The wood pews are arranged in a U-shape, facing the curved dais. Along the edge of the dais is a wood balustrade, and on top of the dais is a small altar, a paneled pulpit, paneled seats for clergy, and the organ keyboard. In the choir is a section of paneled wood wainscot reminiscent of choir stalls. Above this wainscot are three tall, arched window openings arranged in tripartite fashion with a large center opening flanked by two similar but smaller openings. Each opening contains decorative tracery and subtle vertical screening, but no glass. Between the openings are pilasters with decorative capitals (Photo 19). The openings were designed to provide a view of the large collection of organ pipes located immediately behind the choir. The central arched opening has a large cross installed in front of it. A U-shaped upper balcony runs around the sanctuary’s north, west, and south sides. Under the balcony are stained glass windows that line the north and south walls of the building’s third floor. Each window is rectangular and comprised of four vertically-oriented casement sash topped by a three-lite transom. Each sash and lite features stained glass in gold tones, with decorative trim and plant forms primarily in greens and ambers. The fourth floor of the Main Building contains the sanctuary’s upper balcony seating area, a cry room, a storage room, and the vertical space housing the organ pipes (Photos 15-18). The balcony has long-leaf pine floors arranged in tiers, with four tiers of seats at the rear (west) side and three tiers along the north and south sides. The seats are historic theater-style seats with curved plywood backs and seats and decorative metal seat ends. The cry room is located at the far west end of the fourth floor and is separated from the balcony with a wall and several modern picture windows. The floor at the back of the balcony was lowered when the wall was installed and the small steps to the exit doors on the west wall were added. The east end of the fourth floor is hidden behind the double-height wall behind the choir. That wall screens not only the organ pipes but also a small storage room and access to the stairwells at both eastern building corners. The fourth-floor stained glass windows run along the north and south walls of the space. Each window has a round-arched shape, with one large arched lite in the center, two vertical sidelight windows, and four voussoir-shaped lites curving around the top. The center of each curved window lite features either a landscape scene or simple figure such as a chalice, cross, or crown. The sidelights, voussoirs, and edge trim work at each window feature Wrightian geometric patterns in golds, greens, and ambers. Between each window is a pilaster with ornamental capital, and above the capitals is a decorative plaster cornice that includes a row of egg-and-dart molding. Page 12 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas The balcony affords a clear view of the sanctuary ceiling, which is highly decorative. In the center of the ceiling is a circular hole, and beyond that, the concave surface of the building’s dome (Photo 11). In the center of the dome is an oculus with a gold and brown stained-glass window. The ceiling itself is coved, with an angled section of wall between the cornice at the top of the walls and the edge of the flat ceiling portion. Plaster moldings encircle the dome opening and also crisscross the ceiling, creating four ceiling “sections.” The plaster moldings feature various ornamental designs in relief, including acanthus leaves, scrolls, palmettes, and laurel leaves with ribbons. At each corner of the laurel leaf molding is a subtle detail featuring the head and wings of an angel. Education Building, 1952 Exterior The 1952 Education Building is a three-story Modern building located immediately north of the Church. It has a narrow rectangular footprint with the shorter front elevation facing west towards Lavaca Street. This building design also adapted to the sloping site, with the front portion being two stories in height and the rear portion being three stories, including a partially exposed basement level. The basement level of this building is referred to as the first floor. The building’s walls are buff colored brick with limestone decorative details including copings, door and window surrounds, and corner cladding. The roof is flat, with a smaller, rectangular flat-roofed volume near the building’s northwest corner extending to a larger, taller than the main roof. The taller roof corresponds to the chapel inside the building, which has a higher ceiling than the surrounding classrooms and offices. The various roofs have low parapets with limestone coping. Other than the stained-glass chapel windows on the third floor, the windows throughout the building have replacement dark-tinted aluminum sash in the same configurations as the historic windows. Stylistically, the building has a minimalistic, Modern design with few decorative elements other than flat limestone trim on the main elevations and a subtly stepped parapet on the projecting chapel roof volume. The west elevation has three bays, with the entrance in the central bay (Photos 21-22). Flat limestone pilasters are found at the building corners and between the bays. A wide concrete staircase with ten stairs leads from the sidewalk to a shallow entrance porch at the building’s third floor level. On either side of the staircase is a stepped brick side wall with a wide limestone coping that meets the fade and blends into the limestone pilasters. The entrance is a double door with a limestone door surround featuring a flat pediment with a cross design and a small relief carving of a Bible. The outermost two bays each contain one small window with flat limestone trim. To either side of the central entrance stairs is a low brick planter. Above the flat parapet, the taller chapel roof volume is visible. This volume has a taller, stepped parapet with the central section coming to a low peak (Photo 15). The long north elevation has two distinct sections that divide the façade into roughly half (Photo 24). At the front (west) corner of the building is a single bay corresponding to the side of the entrance volume, with the flat limestone pilaster at the corner. East of that is a section of four bays that corresponds to the chapel, with its taller roof. The lower floor here has a single entrance door to the west and four sets of paired rectangular windows to the east. The upper floor has one rectangular window to the east and six lancet windows near the center of the volume, each with a 1952 stained glass window and a limestone decorative window surround. The second section of building to the east has a shorter roof height and three distinct levels corresponding to the three floors. The fenestration pattern across the floor is irregular, with rectangular windows in varying configurations. All windows on the north elevation other than the lancet windows have no window trim and only simple brick windowsills. The east elevation has a symmetrical façade with three bays and a minimalistic design (Photo 26-27). The entire basement level is clad in limestone veneer topped with a simple molding. At this level, the middle bay has a central double entry door flanked by single rectangular windows, and the outer two bays each have two rectangular windows. Page 13 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas The upper floors have flat limestone pilasters between the bays and at each building corner, and a thin string course runs across all three bays a few feet below parapet level. The outer two bays are windowless on the upper levels. The central bay, however, has a single, tall window comprised of four rectangular lights stacked vertically. Around the window is a decorative limestone surround topped with a cross as on the building’s front elevation. Between the upper window and the central entry doors is a limestone panel inscribed with the words FIRST METHODIST EDUCATION BUILDING 1952. The long south elevation faces the Main Building and the shared courtyard. It is similar to the eastern half of the north elevation, but the fenestration pattern is regular, with tripled rectangular windows across all three floors. Views of this elevation are restricted due to the hyphen and breezeway at the west end of the courtyard and an iron fence enclosing the courtyard’s east side. Interior The interior of the Education Building primarily consists of classrooms, offices, and hallways, with the notable exception of the Murchison Chapel located on the upper floor. The partial basement level of the Education Building is known as the first floor. It is the only floor of the building with an L-shaped footprint, with the ell extending south to connect to the Main Building. The main, rectangular section of the basement consists of a central hallway and several classrooms of various sizes, and an exterior door leading east onto Colorado Street. The second floor of the Education Building also contains a central hallway and several classrooms, along with a centrally located restroom. This floor has two entrances: one leading south to the walkway hyphen that connects to the Main Building, and one at the west end of its north elevation leading to the parking lot immediately north of the building. The third floor is considered the “main” floor. It is accessed by the broad set of stairs and main entrance at Lavaca Street. The entrance leads to a lobby and church office, beyond which is the Murchison Chapel to the left (north) and a hallway to the right. The hallway jogs slightly as it passes around the chapel and leads to several small classrooms and offices. Evacuation stairs are located at the east end of the hallway and at the southwest corner near the connecting hyphen. An elevator at the building’s northwest corner provides access to all three floors. Murchison Chapel on the third-floor measures approximately fifty feet long and thirty feet across (Photo 28). Its ceiling is higher than the hallways and classrooms on the rest of the third floor, which is evident from the exterior with its higher roof volume (Photo 24). The floor of the chapel is tiled. At the east end of the room is the pulpit, which has wood floors and a convex curve along its front edge. On the north side of the pulpit is a single door leading into a small sacristy. The ceiling of the chapel is barrel-vaulted, with a large rectangular skylight running down its center. The skylight features decorative openwork with wood ribs in a stylized crisscross motif. Above the skylight is a metal roof that appears to “float” due to a strip of small ribbon windows separating it from the skylight. The chapel features nine stained-glass lancet windows, six along the north wall and three along the south wall. The wood-framed, stained- glass windows were created for this chapel in 1952: they recall the design of the older windows in the Main Building. All of the windows feature multi-colored, leaded stained glass with decorative motifs including columns with capitals, lancet shapes, fleur-de-lis, vegetal forms, doves, and crosses. The windows are also operable, with the lower sash designed to slide up several inches to allow for air flow. Main Building Restoration (2024 – 2026) In 2024, the Church engaged Heimsath Architects to undertake a comprehensive restoration and rehabilitation campaign addressing both preservation needs and serious safety concerns. Over time, pieces of the large cast-stone cornice and column capitals had cracked and, in some cases, fallen from the upper levels to pedestrian areas below, posing a significant hazard to those entering and exiting the Main Building. Some aspects of the project required replacing original architectural elements with modern materials that offer greater long-term durability, but the work Page 14 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas has been carried out under the guidance and approval of the Texas Historical Commission’s Architecture Division. Throughout the process, every effort has been made to replicate the appearance and profile of the original architectural components. The restoration/rehabilitation program focuses on four major areas: 1. Cornice Replacement: The large overhanging cast-stone cornice is being replaced in kind with new cast stone, reinforced and securely attached with stainless steel. 2. Column Capital Restoration: The monumental Ionic capitals on the west (main) façade are being replaced with glass-fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) units that match the original cast-stone capitals; the capitals on the south and east façades will be pinned with stainless-steel reinforcement to stabilize them as age-related cracking continues. 3. Roof Replacement: The sanctuary’s original tin batten-seam roof, now at the end of its functional life, is being replaced with a galvalume standing-seam roof. A fluid-applied membrane system will cover the gutters, scuppers, and tops of the cornice stones to prevent future water infiltration. 4. Dome Shingle Replacement: The existing tin metal shingles on the dome will be replaced with custom-made terne-coated stainless-steel shingles attached to the dome’s standing-seam roof. The new system has been designed to closely replicate the historic appearance of the original dome cladding. Integrity The Main Building retains integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, association, and feeling. Its Neoclassical Revival design survives to a remarkable degree: the building maintains its original form and footprint, roof form and dome, fenestration pattern, and character-defining classical elements, including the pedimented porticoes, monumental Ionic columns on the west and south façades, and Ionic pilasters on the east. These features, together with the building’s symmetrical composition and elevated main level, continue to clearly express the period and style of its 1920s design and construction. Integrity of materials is somewhat reduced by the replacement of select original wood doors and basement windows with aluminum units and by the past removal of pilaster capitals on the least visible north elevation. Current restoration/rehabilitation efforts have replaced missing elements with matching materials, mitigating earlier material losses. Integrity of workmanship is evidenced by the building’s good condition, continued use, and intact architectural features, including its abundant Jacoby Art Glass Co. stained-glass windows, Ionic pilasters, intricate plaster ceiling detailing, and illuminated central dome. The circular sanctuary with curved pews and curvilinear balconies—originally conceived to foster communal worship—remain intact; although the altar has been moved to the front, the plan still supports interaction and sightlines among congregants, reinforcing the building’s historic liturgical ideals. Integrity of setting has been partially diminished since the 1920s. The Main Building originally stood within a largely residential context (apart from the Capitol to the east). Over time, late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century houses along Lavaca Street, the principal approach to the sanctuary—were replaced by commercial buildings and state offices. Notably, aspects of this transition began within the period of significance, which helps contextualize the setting change. Despite these surroundings, the church’s monumental scale, sitting, and design continue to communicate its historic identity. Page 15 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas The property retains excellent integrity of association and feeling. Serving for more than a century as First Methodist Church, the building strongly conveys its historic role and era through size, scale, and Neoclassical detailing, sustaining a clear sense of time and place. The 1952 Education Building retains good overall integrity as a modest early postwar Modern Movement/Modern Classic (Stripped Classicism) ecclesiastical building designed in deference to the adjacent sanctuary. It preserves its original design and form, including the symmetrical primary façade, raised base, flat limestone pilasters (implied classical order) at corners and between bays, stylized cross, and stepped-back massing, and low parapet. The building retains its original footprint, roof configuration, and original window and door openings, and features lancet-arched stained-glass windows on the south elevation and within the chapel, as well as original entry light fixtures and a cross-and-Bible relief above the main doors. Integrity of materials is diminished by replacement of original wood windows and doors with aluminum substitutes, but these changes are limited and do not obscure the building’s essential modern-classical character. The building retains integrity of workmanship to a good degree—evident in its condition, masonry execution, and surviving crafted elements—and maintains integrity of association and feeling through its continuous use as a religious education and office facility. Importantly, the Education Building also retains integrity of setting: it was constructed during the area’s transition from residential to commercial/civic uses, a context that remains today. Because the building was purpose-built within that evolving environment, its setting continues to reflect the time, place, and function of early postwar church expansion and programming. Despite selective material replacements at both buildings and an altered broader setting for the Main Building, the overall historic character, form, and function of the church complex remain clear and compelling. Page 16 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Statement of Significance First Methodist Church of Austin is nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C in the area of Architecture at the local level of significance. The nomination encompasses two buildings – the Main Building/sanctuary and an education building - connected by open breezeways at 1201 Lavaca Street, west of the Texas State Capitol. The 1922 Main Building is best fully realized example early 20th century ecclesial neoclassicism in Austin. The 1952 Education Building references the 1922 sanctuary vis-à-vis Modern Movement language of its unornamented façade and abstracted classical details. The church meets Criteria Consideration A for Religious Properties because it derives its primary significance from its architectural distinction. The period of significance (1922-1928; 1952) begins with the construction of the sanctuary basement (and sub-basement) in 1922 and continues to the building’s completion in 1928, and the construction of the Education Building in 1952. History of Austin’s Methodist Church The 19th Century According to its website, First United Methodist Church is “. . . older than the State of Texas and the longest-standing Methodist Church west of the Mississippi River.8 The congregation dates to the origins of Methodism in Austin during the era of the Texas Republic. Methodism had already made inroads into Central Texas by 1838, when fifteen Methodists in the town of Bastrop (Mina), an early contender for the Republic’s capital, built the town’s first Protestant Church. However, the fledgling congregation lacked a preacher to lead them, so, in December 1839, the Mississippi Conference rectified the situation by appointing Tennessee native John Haynie to the Austin Circuit of the Texas Mission. Though identified as “the Austin Circuit,” Haynie organized his first Texas congregation in Bastrop, the seat of government for Bastrop County and, at the time, a larger town than Austin.9 Due to poor or non-existent roads, Rev. Haynie did not arrive in the frontier outpost and newly-confirmed Texas capital until 1840, the year Austin Methodists recognize as the beginning of their church. On Christmas Day that year, the Texas Annual Conference was organized at Rutersville, Texas, where Bishop Beverly Waugh was elected president and Rev. Haynie was appointed to the Austin Circuit for a second year. Haynie also served as Chaplain of the House of Representatives in 1840. Haynie preached in various places throughout his district, including the original log capitol of the Republic. He also met with his flock in a log house south of Wooldridge Square and west of the present Austin History Center.10 Haynie was succeeded by Josiah Whipple who served the Austin Circuit for two years before it dissolved for a time (1843-1845), largely due to increasing tensions between settlers and Indigenous peoples. The life of a circuit rider, or itinerant preacher, was fraught with hardship and danger. Haynie was charged with providing religious services to Bastrop, Austin, and pioneer settlements in between. Though it was only a distance of some 30 miles between the two towns, the route passed through Comanche hunting grounds, making it a dangerous journey for a lone preacher on horseback.11 Conditions improved somewhat after 1845, when Texas became a state, and federal troops arrived on the frontier to protect settlers. 8 FUMC website, “History,” https://fumcaustin.org/about-us/history/ accessed by Terri Myers, February 29, 2024. 9 Bruno Schmidt (attributed author), “First United Methodist Church, Austin, Texas: An Historical Summary,” typescript in church archives. Schmidt was a member of the Travis County Historical Commission who drafted the language for the Official Texas Historical Marker on the church. 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid. Page 17 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas In December 1845, the Texas Conference appointed Rev. Homer S. Thrall to what was then called Austin Station. Thrall could find none of the original Austin Methodists and had to re-build the congregation; he preached in the halls of the State Legislature and taught school to earn enough money to support himself and pay bills incurred by the church board. Thrall advanced Methodism in the state capital and in 1846 was reappointed to the Austin Station. Under his leadership, trustees were selected to oversee the construction of a church. They bought a lot at the northeast corner of Congress Avenue and Cedar Street (now 4th Street), for $26.00. Lumber was carted by ox wagon from a sawmill in Bastrop to build the small board-and-batten building. On December 19, 1847, the church opened for worship.12 Known as the Methodist Episcopal Church South, it was the first permanent church building constructed in Austin at the time.13 As time passed and the congregation grew, the Austin Methodists embarked on other building projects. In 1853, they sold their board-and-batten building to the Christian Church and bought several lots at the northeast corner of Mulberry (now 10th) and Brazos Streets where they built a small, red-brick church under the pastorage of the Rev. John W. Phillips.14 A. H. Cook was the brick contractor and A. N. Hopkins did the woodwork.15 Now known as the Methodist Episcopal Church, the congregation had grown to about 90 members, including 30 enslaved persons and servants; by 1858, membership had reached 231, including 135 enslaved persons.16 The Methodists remained in the red-brick church through the Civil War and Reconstruction eras, and into the early 1880s. By 1883, the Methodists numbered about 400 members and had outgrown their building. Rev. A. E. Goodwin led a fund-raising drive to build a new church. The red-brick church was demolished and replaced by a larger, more elaborate, and impressive church on the same site. A. M. C. Nixon, an early Austin architect who built some of the most elaborate Victorian-era houses in South Austin’s Fairview Park subdivision in the 1870s and 1880s, designed the new church. John McDonald served as general contractor on the $20,000 project.17 Church literature and newspaper articles described the new church as “Roman style,” likely for its bands of round-arched windows on both the first and second floors. But it also displayed Gothic Revival elements; its primary façade featured a high-pitched gabled entrance bay flanked by a 3-story square tower with a soaring steeple on one side and a smaller round tower with a turret on the other side. The church has gone through several name changes in its history. In 1845, under Rev. Homer Thrall, it was known as the Methodist Episcopal Church South.18 When the church was completed in 1884, it was renamed Central Methodist Church South, or Central Church, though it was better known as the “Tenth Street Church,” a moniker that lasted until 1902, when its name was officially changed to “First Methodist Church.” Among its members, however, the Tenth Street name persisted for many years.19 The impressive “Roman Style” sanctuary, as it was described in newspaper articles, may have had attracted new members; by 1892, during Rev. R. J. Briggs’ tenure, the congregation had grown to 675 members, its peak in the 19th century. By then, several other Methodist congregations had formed elsewhere in the city, some for specific ethnic groups, including a Swedish Methodist Church, a German Methodist Episcopal Church, and two African American Methodist Churches, one an African Methodist Episcopal Church; the other, 12 Schmidt. 13 David C. Humphrey, Austin: An Illustrated History, Windsor Publications, inc., 1985: 11. 14 Schmidt. 15 “Cornerstone of Old First Methodist Church Opened,” The Austin Statesman, Sept. 6, 1883; “Among Articles Found,” The Austin Statesman, June 26, 1923: 10. 16 After Emancipation, many Freedmen in Austin left the church to form Wesley Chapel Methodist Church. 17 “Cornerstone of Old First Methodist Church Opened,” The Austin Statesman, June 26, 1923: 10. 18 “History of the church: 1840-2019,” typescript in church archives. 19 In 1968, the Methodist Church united with Evangelical United Brethren and became the First United Methodist Church, its current name (“History of the Church: 1840-2019,” in church archives). Page 18 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Wesley Chapel Methodist Church.20 Methodists also opened a mission on 24th Street, near the University of Texas campus. To most, however, First Methodist Church remained the “mother church” of Methodism in Austin. Early 20th Century By the early 20th century, however, the First Methodists had again outgrown their church. As early as 1909, church trustees began looking for a new site on which to build a larger sanctuary and a parsonage. World War I ended their search for a while, but after the war, a building committee was formed to consider other downtown sites in earnest. Early in 1919, the committee settled on the “McKean property” immediately west of the Texas State Capitol grounds, at the northeast corner of Lavaca and W. 12th Streets. In 1919, the building committee voted unanimously to recommend the site to the church and asked that every member of the quarterly conference to do the same.21 Though the exact count was not reported, the vote went in favor of the recommended site. In 1921, Rev. E. R. Barcus led the congregation in a building campaign for the current church. The Ft. Worth firm of Sanguinet and Staats Architects was hired to design the building with Austinite Roy L. Thomas as an associate, later supervising, architect. Ground was broken for the new church in 1921, and in 1923 the cornerstone was laid on the northeast corner of Colorado and 12th Streets. On December 1, 1923, the first service was held in the newly completed lower floor; the Methodists worshipped in the basement until the upper part of the building known today for its imposing Neoclassical Revival style was finally completed in 1928 under Rev. W. F. “Ben” Bryan. The congregation brought the benches and organ pipes from the 10th Street Church to the new one. While the church was under construction, a two-story brick parsonage was built on an adjacent lot north of the Main Building; it fronted onto Colorado Street and lay directly across from the Texas Capitol. The parsonage was designed by Austin architect Roy L. Thomas in the Prairie School idiom with an overarching hipped roof and a full-façade, hipped porch supported by stout square piers. Starting in 1940, after the Annual Conference and the appointment of the Rev. W. Kenneth Pope, the church enjoyed nine years of dynamic growth. The congregation added a church library, initiated radio broadcasts on KTBC, and burned the mortgage notes on the sanctuary building in 1946. As the congregation grew, more space was needed for classrooms and gatherings. Church members decided to convert the parsonage for use as an education building and youth center. The Popes moved into a new parsonage in the Pemberton Heights subdivision, northwest of downtown. This solution worked for several years from the late-1940s to the early 1950s. Mid- and Late 20th Century The church continued to thrive in the early postwar era but by the 1950s, First Methodist Church began to experience some of the same problems that other downtown churches faced at that time. As young families moved to the suburbs and established new or “branch” churches, inner city churches saw declines in membership and attendance. But the church remained committed to its downtown location and in 1952, under the Rev. Marvin S. Vance, the congregation unanimously voted to build an education building next to the sanctuary in the north. It replaced the old parsonage and fronted onto Lavaca Street next to the Main Building. In 1968, under Rev. R. S. Tate, Jr., the congregation began remodeling the sanctuary and education center. That same year, the Methodist Church joined with Evangelical United Brethren to become First United Methodist Church, its present name, though many in the congregation simply refer to it as “First Church.” In 1962, the lower floor of the Main Building was remodeled to make room for a new nursery and childcare center and in 1968, remodeling efforts 20 “Churches,” Austin Daily Statesman, December 17, 1886: 3. 21 “Site Recommended for First Methodist Church Building,” Austin American-Statesman, March 30, 1919: 24. Page 19 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas created new staff offices and other improvements in both the sanctuary and the Education Building.22 New kitchen facilities were also built in the basement under the sanctuary. In 1971, through the inspiration of H. W. “Woody” Wilson and Stan Lambert, an Endowment Fund was established. Endowment has continued to grow, and the investment provides annual revenue for facility improvements and other needs. In September 1977, First Church bought the parking lot north of the Education Building. During that period, the church also created a preschool and developed new classes on Sundays and during the week. Church services were also broadcast on live television.23 In 1978, the congregation recognized the church’s heritage and Rev. Bruno Schmidt worked with the Austin Historical Society24 to mount a historical marker at its second location, the corner of 4th and Congress, which is now occupied by Frost Bank. Another historical marker was placed at 10th and Brazos, commemorating the site of the Tenth Street Church, the present location of the Thomas Jefferson Rusk State Building. Finally, the current church – First United Methodist Church of Austin – received its own Official Texas Historical Marker, No. 6418, in 1978; it is mounted on the front wall of the primary (Lavaca Street) façade near the southwest corner of the church. In 1985, the Church bought the H. M. Oetting Furniture Store building on the northwest corner of Lavaca and 13th Streets. As the congregation continued to grow during Rev. John McMullen’s term (1994-2010) the building was virtually demolished, except for part of one wall, for the current Schmidt-Jones Family Life Center designed by Heimsath Architects.25 The two-story Family Life Center has 22,602 square feet housing almost a dozen Sunday school classrooms, a full gym with basketball courts and a commercial kitchen. Church member Mary Nell Garrison donated funds for the first floor gathering room which is named Garrison Hall in her honor. The center itself is named for Bruno Schmidt and Kathleen Jones, two long-standing and beloved associate pastors and educators; the building was dedicated on April 19, 1998.26 In the early 1990s, during Pastor John Gilbert’s tenure, the Chapel in the Education Building was renovated with funds from Bill and Mary Murchison, for whom it is named. The chapel was renovated by Heimsath Architects and features a painted tapestry by Sandi Heimsath. It is now far less formal in its present design and flexible seating arrangement than its original, more traditional appearance with stationary altar and pews.27 The 21st Century Facility improvements continued in the 2000s. In 2003, Lon and Shirley Brooks gave the church two stained glass windows from the old 10th Street Methodist Church. The left window hangs at the entrance of the church office; the right window is in the door of Usher’s room, formerly the Bruno Schmidt History Center. At about the same time, under the leadership of wife and husband team, Rev. John Wright and Rev. Barbara Ruth, the church remodeled Wesley Hall, the basement of the sanctuary building, where church services were held from 1923-1928. During the renovation, the balcony rails of the original sanctuary were uncovered; they were left in place to show the church’s early architectural feature. 22 “History of the Church: 1840-2019,” typescript in church archives. 23 Schmidt. 24 The Austin Heritage Society, now Preservation Austin. 25 Ben Heimsath, comments on draft nomination, 2023. 26 “History of the Church: 1840-2019.” 27 Ben Heimsath. Page 20 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Changes in social and cultural attitudes and practices in the 2010s led the church in new directions. In 2013, FUMC voted to affiliate with the Reconciling Ministries Network in a step toward marriage equality and inclusion of LGBTQ persons.28 In 2016, the church advanced further when the Rev. Taylor Fuerst joined FUMC as only the second female Senior Pastor and continued the work of marriage equality. In 2019, the congregation voted to accept same sex marriage as stated on its website home page: “. . . in light of recent denominational actions that double-down on discrimination, declared by an overwhelming majority the church’s intent to host, and support its pastors in officiating, the blessing of marriage for same sex couples. While the United Methodist Church continues to negotiate a way forward, FUMC stands firmly on the side of justice and inclusion.”29 Today, First United Methodist Church (“First Church”) of Austin remains a leader in progressive religion, “promoting access and rights for all persons to know God’s love and sent to join God in transforming the world.”30 Context: The Architecture of Protestant Churches in Austin, 1900-1960 Edwin Waller laid out the newly designated Texas capital in common gridiron fashion according to the cardinal directions relative to the meanders of the Colorado River, its southern boundary. The townsite plat displayed little embellishment other than reserving blocks for future buildings befitting the nascent Texas Republic’s capital, including a block at the northern terminus of the city’s broad main street - Congress Avenue – dedicated for a Capitol. Other blocks were marked for a college, a county courthouse and jail, an armory, two for churches, four for public squares, and a large tract on Shoal Creek for a penitentiary. Otherwise, Austin’s pioneer residents were left to their own interpretation, the initial result being the seemingly random appearance of log buildings across the townsite for all types of uses—dwellings, business houses, saloons, a temporary capitol, and churches. Among them was a log house near present Wooldridge Square in the northwest quadrant of the city, where Austin Methodists gathered for worship.31 Unlike San Antonio with its Spanish/Mexican population and Catholic mission and chapel traditions, Austin was initially settled by Anglo-American colonists, most of them Protestants – primarily Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians – who brought their own religious building customs with them to the frontier capital. In his Handbook of Texas article “Church Architecture,” Willard B. Robinson described their early churches as simple log, frame, or stone boxes with a few openings along the sides and a gabled roof surmounted by a plain cross or belfry identifying the building as a church.32 Built at the northeast corner of Congress Avenue and Cedar Street in 1847, the first building constructed expressly as a church for the Austin Methodists, was an example of that early type. Though no images exist for it, a facsimile of the church depicts it as a small, front-gabled frame building with an entrance in the street- facing gable end. As Austin grew during the nineteenth century, its earliest congregations worshiped in simple frame buildings, but increasing prosperity soon encouraged the construction of more architecturally refined churches. The dominant influence during this period was the Gothic Revival, a style rooted in medieval European church architecture and widely popular in the eastern United States. Gothic Revival buildings were immediately recognizable by their pointed-arch (lancet) windows, steeply pitched gables, and vertical emphases—features that appeared in Austin’s earliest substantial churches, such as the first and second First Methodist Church buildings (1853 and 1884) at Tenth and Brazos. These churches, like many others, adopted rectangular plans with front-gabled entrances and rows of lancet windows. 28 “History of the Church: 1840-2019.” 29 FUMC website home page, https://fumcaustin.org/about-us/history/ accessed by Terri Myers, February 29, 2024. 30 Ibid. 31 Schmidt. 32 Willard B. Robinson, “Church Architecture,” Handbook of Texas Online, December 1, 1994, updated March 23, 2021, accessed by Terri Myers, February 26, 2024, online https://www.tshaonline.org/about/people/willard-b-robinson. Page 21 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas From the mid-nineteenth through the early twentieth century, Gothic Revival became Austin’s most pervasive ecclesiastical style, embraced by a broad spectrum of congregations. Surviving examples reflect this wide adoption: Gethsemane Lutheran Church (1883), St. Mary’s Cathedral (1884), and All Saints Episcopal Chapel (1899) all feature masonry construction, pointed-arch openings, and central or offset bell towers. Black and Hispanic congregations— including Wesley Chapel Methodist Church and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church—also built Gothic Revival sanctuaries, though few remain downtown due to discriminatory practices that displaced these communities in the early twentieth century. Alongside this Gothic tradition, Austin also absorbed classical architectural influences beginning in the 1850s. Abner Cook, one of the city’s most influential early builders, was largely responsible for bringing the Greek Revival style to prominence in Austin through major civic and residential commissions such as the Governor’s Mansion (1856), Woodlawn (1853), the Neill-Cochran House (1855), and the original State Lunatic Asylum (1857). Cook’s buildings— distinguished by temple-front porticos, monumental columns, and formal classical symmetry—introduced the city to architectural ideals associated with democracy, stability, and civic virtue. While he did not design churches, his classical work contributed to Austin’s receptiveness to later Neoclassical religious architecture. These classical preferences resurfaced nationally in the late nineteenth century with the rise of Beaux-Arts classicism and the widespread influence of the 1893 Columbian Exposition, whose gleaming white, classically inspired buildings helped popularize monumental classical forms for banks, courthouses, civic monuments, and religious architecture. This growing enthusiasm created a cultural backdrop ready for architectural change in Austin. Even with these shifting tastes, Gothic Revival remained deeply entrenched in local church design by century's end. St. Mary’s Cathedral (1874–1894), designed by Nicholas J. Clayton, represents the height of High Victorian Gothic in Austin, with its rusticated stone walls, rose window, stained-glass lancets, and spired towers. Other congregations followed suit: the Swedish Lutherans built a buff-brick Gothic sanctuary with buttresses and lancet windows in 1883, and the Methodists commissioned A.M.C. Nixon for their 1883 church, whose tall gables, and paired towers—despite round-arched window bands—firmly linked it to the Gothic Revival tradition. The style’s enduring power is further illustrated by All Saints Chapel (1899), a Late Gothic Revival building with a cruciform plan, lancet openings, buttresses, and an offset tower. Scholars have long noted why the Gothic style remained so persistent. As Jay C. Henry explained, the Gothic Revival “always retained a special appropriateness for church building,” because “the great Gothic monuments of the Middle Ages are Christian churches; the style is Christian by historical definition.”33 He further observed that “at the end of the [nineteenth] century, the Gothic style remained the principal vehicle for the representation of Christian values in church architecture.”34 Yet the same decades that saw Gothic architecture flourish in Austin also saw the foundations laid for a shift toward classical revival forms. Influenced by Abner Cook’s early Greek Revival buildings and by national enthusiasm for classical monumentalism, many Austin congregations in the early twentieth century turned to the Neoclassical Revival style to convey stability, dignity, and civic aspiration. Neoclassical Revival Style Gothic Revival hegemony in ecclesiastical architecture was challenged in 1893, when the Chicago Columbian Exposition laid out Beaux-Arts Classicism to stunning effect – a broad promenade lined with the white-columned temples of Rome, Greece, and Byzantium – before a mesmerized and delighted American public. All but one of the 33 Jay C. Henry, Architecture in Texas, 1895-1945, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993, page 35. 34 Ibid. Page 22 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas major exhibit halls in the Exposition exhibited strong classical design elements including precise symmetry, Greek, Roman, or Byzantine form, columns, central domes, and pedimented porticos. An estimated 27-28 million people attended the exposition where they beheld the buildings in all their architectural splendor first-hand, but thousands more were exposed to the designs in photographs displayed on the front pages of newspapers, on postcards, and in a wide range of promotional and commemorative brochures and ephemera.35 The public response to the design aesthetic displayed by the exposition’s gleaming white monuments – inspiring its moniker “white city” – was nothing less than extraordinary, sparking “a national embrace of new classicism,” especially in public and civic buildings “such as banks, courthouses, schools, and churches whose owners or governing bodies wished to convey a sense of stateliness, serious intent, strength, trustworthiness, and permanence”36 at the end of the nineteenth and into the early twentieth century. Henry defined the sort of generic Classicism that followed the exposition as “Beaux-Arts Classic,” a style he held as the most common form of Academic Eclecticism, a “body of work [that] includes the greatest part of Texas architecture between 1900 and 1930 . . .”37 He further explained that, while it references the neo-classicism of the antebellum period with similar forms, the Beaux-Arts Classic style was of its own time and cultural milieu in which American architects increasingly had the benefit of formal training, i.e., at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, instead of an apprenticeship. Thus, the Beaux-Arts Classic of the Columbian Exposition, as imitated or embellished across the country, and eventually into Texas, was a revival of a Revival,38 hence the style is termed “Neoclassical Revival.” First Methodist is an excellent example of the Neoclassical Revival style with its monumental Ionic columns and pilasters, pediment, and entablature. As Austin’s population increased in the first decades of the twentieth century, so did the number of churches, some of which were “branches” established in the new suburban additions further from the downtown core. Though most continued to prefer the Gothic Revival idioms, a few expanded their architectural tastes to regional forms and architectural features, especially those related to the Southwest’s Spanish heritage including Spanish and Mission Revival palettes. Designed by Frederick R. Mann in 1907, University Methodist Church was one of the more progressive churches and a major departure from both the traditional Gothic and recent Neoclassical Revival styles. Jay C. Henry described the church as a “prime example of the crossbreeding of styles” in which the white limestone building combined round arches associated with Romanesque and Spanish Colonial palettes with the red clay tile roofs, wide eaves, and pronounced brackets of the then-emerging Mission style.39 The church was reportedly the model adopted by the University of Texas for most of its buildings in the first half of the twentieth century.40 By the 1910s, Austin was home to some 3,000 Methodists organized into churches: First United Methodist, Ward Memorial Church, in southeast Austin at Waller and Willow Streets; the German M. E. Church, in the northwestern corner of town at 18th and San Jacinto Streets; Hyde Park M. E. Church, in the northern suburbs at W. 43rd Street and Avenue B; South Austin M. E., across the Colorado River on Johanna Street; the Mexican M. E. Church, at 512 W. 4th Street in the southwest part of the city, Swedish Central M. E. Church, at 110 W. 13th Street, west of central downtown, and two African American Methodist churches, the African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.) and Wesley Chapel Methodist Church. 35 https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=How+many+people+attended+the+1893+Columbian+Exposition%3F 36 Ibid. 37 Jay C. Henry, Architecture in Texas 1895-1945, University of Texas Press: Austin, 1993: 5. 38 Jay C. Henry, Architecture in Texas 1895-1945, University of Texas Press: Austin, 1993: 5. 39 Jay C. Henry, Architecture in Texas 1895-1945, University of Texas Press: Austin, 1993: 21. 40 “University United Methodist Church” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_United_Methodist_Church Page 23 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas As Methodist and Baptist congregations in Austin began planning new buildings in the 1910s, their proposals signaled a notable shift away from Gothic Revival traditions toward emerging Neoclassical Revival designs. Several churches in planning at that time incorporated hallmarks of the Neoclassical Revival style—Greek columns, triangular pediments, formal symmetry, masonry walls, and elevated first stories. Among the earliest examples were a new First Baptist Church downtown and three major Methodist projects: First Methodist Church downtown and two suburban congregations in South Austin (Fairview Park) and Hyde Park. By 1913, the two suburban Methodist churches—described as rising “at opposite ends of town”—were announced in local newspapers. Both were designed by Austin architect George A. Endress at a cost of $15,000–$16,000 and were described as brick buildings “of classic design,” the earliest known newspaper reference to Neoclassical Revival church architecture in Austin. 41 Renderings published at the time show symmetrical façades, triangular pediments, rooftop domes, and, in the case of the South Austin church, classical columns (Figures 4 and 5). Construction began on the South Austin Methodist Church in early 1914. Although a Neoclassical design was initially proposed for the Hyde Park congregation, that plan was abandoned; they built a more restrained brick church between 1921 and 1922. By March 1914, South Austin Methodist Church was well underway, and First Methodist Church downtown had accumulated $25,000 toward what would be the most ambitious of the new projects. Planned as both a sanctuary and a community facility, the church was described as “a modern house of worship with a gymnasium, game rooms and dining rooms in connection,” estimated to cost $100,000. Like the other Methodist projects, it was conceived in the Greek Revival subtype of the Neoclassical Revival style, featuring a symmetrical façade and a pedimented portico supported by classical columns or pilasters. 42 At the same time, Rev. W. A. Hamlett of First Baptist Church announced plans to replace the congregation’s overcrowded 1857 building at Tenth and Colorado Streets. Austin architect Roy L. Thomas prepared tentative plans for a new sanctuary to seat 1,800–2,000 people—an enormous increase over the existing capacity of 400–50043. The Neoclassical Revival style Baptist Church was indeed impressive with its elevated foundation, Greek pediment, and monumental columns. 44 (Figure 6) Modern Movement and Religious Architecture By the mid-twentieth century, Christian denominations across the United States increasingly shared ideas about worship and architectural design. A broad ecumenical interest in rethinking historic revival styles prompted churches of many traditions to explore new expressions of sacred space. As Mark Torgerson observes, an “unusual confluence of movements”—the ecumenical, liturgical, and modern architecture movements—“changed the face of church architecture across denominational lines,” producing designs that emphasized the communal presence of God through new manipulations of space, light, and form.45 Mid-century precedent-setting religious buildings such as Eero Saarinen’s Kresge Chapel at MIT (1953–58), Frank Lloyd Wright’s First Unitarian Church (1946–51), and Le Corbusier’s chapel at Ronchamp (1950–55) reflected this shift. Texas also participated in this expanding architectural 41 “Much Building Under Way Here, Even Now,” Austin Daily Statesman, December 23, 1913: 13. 42 South Austin Methodist Church, now “Life in the City,” a local non-denominational fellowship, is a contributing building in the Travis Heights-Fairview Park National Register District. 43 “First Baptists Discuss Plans for New Church,” Austin Daily Statesman, January 19, 1914: 6. 44 “Contract for Church Awarded,” Austin Daily Statesman, February 26, 1915:10. 45 Mark Torgerson, Architecture of Immanence: Architecture for Worship and Ministry Today. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans’s Publishing, 2007), xi. Page 24 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas vocabulary through works like Temple Rodef Shalom (1962), St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Austin (1960), and St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Chapel (1955). Pragmatism accelerated this move toward progressive styles. Improved materials and construction methods made modern designs more economical than traditional revival architecture, and congregations cited cost savings and flexible spaces as compelling reasons to adopt modern buildings. One local clergyman noted that a traditional “Early American church” would have cost “30 to 50 per cent” more for the same floor area. 46 Modern buildings—often of brick, wood, and stone—were thus seen as both cost-efficient and well suited to emerging liturgical preferences that emphasized equality, participation, and multipurpose communal use. While some congregations embraced expressive modern forms, others sought a more restrained architectural language that balanced modernity with continuity. This impulse drew on a long history of reinterpreting classical forms—a process that began in the Renaissance and continued through Baroque, Palladian, and monumental Neoclassical traditions. Even as Modernism rejected historical ornament, architects explored ways to merge classical proportion and order with modern materials. Early examples include Peter Behrens’s AEG Turbine Factory (1909) and the abstracted classical grids of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret’s Villa Savoye (1928–31). From these explorations emerged a distinct early twentieth-century idiom known as Modern Classicism, or Stripped Classicism, which found wide application in Texas’s civic, commercial, and institutional buildings of the 1920s and 1930s and persisted into the postwar period. This style combined classical massing, symmetry, pilasters, or cornice lines with dramatically simplified, modern detailing. Ornament was minimized in favor of clean planes, precise proportions, and the use of durable materials to convey monumentality and progress. Architects such as Paul Philippe Cret helped define the style in the United States through projects like the Folger Shakespeare Library (1929) and the Texas Memorial Museum (1936–38), both of which reinterpreted classical forms through flattened surfaces and minimal decoration. Even as highly abstract Mid-Century Modern ecclesiastical designs became common after World War II—featuring A-frame roofs, asymmetrical wings, and expressive structural forms—classically derived motifs continued to appear in contemporary ways. Buildings such as Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House (1951) and Edward Durell Stone’s Kennedy Center (1971) attest to the enduring appeal of the classical temple form, even in its most distilled or modernized state. Within this broader architectural context, the 1952 Education Building at First Methodist represents a thoughtful application of Stripped Classicism to a religious institutional facility. Its simplified classical massing, elevated front stairs recalling a temple podium, and flat limestone pilasters that subtly frame the façade all reflect this modern classical vocabulary. At the same time, the building’s restraint allows the eye to remain in the church’s earlier Neoclassical Revival sanctuary. By adopting a modernized classical language rather than a fully modern or highly expressive form, the Education Building honored the architectural dignity of the sanctuary while providing a functional, contemporary facility for mid-century religious education. First Methodist Church (1909-1928) Planning Although not completed until 1928, First Methodist Church leaders began thinking about building a new sanctuary to accommodate their growing congregation as early as 1909. Membership had increased steadily from about 400 46 Qu Pastor Archie K. Stevenson in “Church Design: A New Face.” Page 25 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas members in 1884, when the second “Tenth Street Church” was built, to 675 members in 1892, and more than 1,000 members in the 1910s.47 As other prominent congregations announced their own proposals for sanctuaries, Rev. Dr. W. D. Bradfield, Pastor of First Methodist Church, told newspaper reporters that 40 members of the congregation had subscribed $47,475 toward their new church building; he expected to raise the remaining funds for a total of $100,000 by the end of the year [1914] so construction would be underway in 1915. At that time, Bradfield said First Methodist Church had 1,000 members and a Sunday School attendance of 500. Based on those numbers, he expressed confidence that congregation was “abundantly able to raise the sum needed . . . and little doubt is entertained that they will do so.”48 The congregation, however, encountered several obstacles to building a new church; they had not yet fully funded its construction and, as war erupted in Europe, they faced an ethical dilemma: whether to build an expensive edifice or support U.S. allies, and later, U.S. troops, in World War I. They opted to wait until after the war to obtain the subscriptions needed to build their church without incurring debt. When World War I ended in late 1918, church leaders resumed plans for a new sanctuary and began evaluating sites. Although they initially intended to rebuild on the long-used Tenth Street property, the building committee recommended in March 1919 that the congregation acquire a more prominent location—a half-block immediately west of the State Capitol between Colorado and Lavaca Streets. 49 After deliberation, the Methodists purchased the 138- by-160-foot parcel from Mrs. A. T. (Laura) McKean in early 1921. Mrs. McKean contributed a portion of the purchase price—reported as $4,000—toward the total cost of $24,000. 50 The lot was soon described in local coverage as one of the finest church sites in Austin for its central location and access from four surrounding streets. First Methodist organized a building committee, led by Col. W. H. Stacy, to solicit architects and review plans for what they hoped to be “one of the most magnificent churches of the Capital, if not the State.”51 The committee ultimately recommended the Fort Worth architectural firm of Sanguinet and Staats to design the building, with Austinite Roy L. Thomas as their associate and supervising architect.52 Founded in 1903 by Marshall R. Sanguinet and Carl G. Staats, Sanguinet and Staats is still recognized as one of the most successful and influential architectural firms in Texas from the turn of the twentieth century through the 1930s.53 Hiring such a renowned firm reflected the level of prestige and purpose attained by First Methodist Church since its frontier origins. The committee later hired contractor 47 “New Methodist Church,” The Statesman, September 6, 1883: 4; “Building Fund is $47,474,” Austin Daily Statesman, April 19, 1914: 9; “First Church Austin,” Quarterly Conference Record, January 3, 1923, to October 18, 1926, in Church Archives 48 “Building Fund is $47,475,” Austin Daily Statesman, April 19, 1914: 9. 49 “Site Recommended for First Methodist Church Building,” Austin Statesman, March 30, 1919: 24. 50 “New First Methodist Church to be Magnificent Structure,” Austin Statesman, March 26, 1922: 12. 51 Ibid. 52 “New First Methodist Church to be Magnificent Structure,” Austin Statesman, March 26, 1922: 12. Other members of the building committee included: Col. R. W. Finley, R. H. Kirby, Judge Charles A. Wilcox, C. T. Rather, S. B. Roberdeau, E. B. Cravens, J. W. Judge, W. T. Williams, W. M. Lovell, J. W. McClendon, and E. E. Young. 53 In terms of the firm’s legacy, First Methodist Church came near the very end of their careers. Both Sanguinet and Staats officially retired in 1926, before the upper stories of First Methodist Church were built. They sold their share of the company to Wyatt C. Hedrick who continued the practice under his own name in Fort Worth and in limited partnerships in Houston, and later, Dallas. When he joined Sanguinet and Staats in 1922, the firm had already been selected to design the church; it is not known how much Hedrick contributed to its design, if anything, though his name is included on the building plans, dated January 1923. The AIA Historical Directory does not mention First Methodist Church as one of the firm’s major projects. “Sanguinet and Staats (firm),” AIA Historical Directory, created by Nancy Hadley, Dec. 18, 2019, source: Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas Libraries, University of Texas, accessed online May 14, 2023, https://aiahistoricaldirectory.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AHDAA/pages/37884941/ahd4006039 Page 26 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas J. F. Johnson, for the building, and J. L. Martin, for the electrical and plumbing fixtures; the Campbell Heating Company, of Kansas City, received the contract for the installation of the heating equipment.54 Roy L. Thomas55 acted as an associate architect on the church for Sanguinet and Staats, and later, for Hedrick. Thomas, who was born in San Marcos, about 30 miles south of Austin, moved to the capital city where he entered the school of engineering at the University of Texas in 1906. Following his military service in World War I, Thomas worked for Col. Stacy (later chair of the committee overseeing the nominated building’s construction) to design and supervise new construction in Stacy’s Travis Heights Addition. Thomas produced more than 30 homes for Stacy in Travis Heights.56 It is possible that Stacy recommended Thomas to Sanguinet and Staats as their on-site associate and construction supervisor for the new church. Thomas was closely involved with the church throughout its lengthy six- year construction, from the design phase and ground-breaking in 1922, to its completion in December 1928. As described in the Austin Statesman, the planned four-story church would be constructed of “stone and terra cotta,” with four entrances, one for each of the surrounding streets: Lavaca, Colorado, W. 12th, and W. 13th Streets. The article gave its dimensions – 90’ x 128’ – with the longer side fronting W. 12th Street and the shorter sides opening to Lavaca and Colorado Streets; the main entrance to the auditorium was from Lavaca Street. A large foyer with rooms on each side was planned to “cut off the auditorium from the noise of streetcars on Lavaca.” The auditorium would be the largest in Austin with a seating capacity of 1,400, including the galleries. Stairways from each of the four entrances would provide access to the auditorium. Each of the entrances would “be beautified with fluted columns and the general architectural is one of harmony and grace.”57 Sunday School rooms within the building would be accessed from the Colorado Street entrance; a mezzanine floor would contain small classrooms. As laid out in the plans, the Sunday School included a large gathering room and adjoining classrooms to accommodate 1,500 pupils at the same time. The church would also contain parlors and rooms for various women’s activities along Colorado Steet.58 Groundbreaking through Completion (1922-1928) On December 5, 1922, the Methodists broke ground on their long-planned project; Mrs. Annie Hill Snyder, great- granddaughter of Rev. John Haynie, who founded the denomination in Austin eighty years earlier, turned the first shovel of dirt.59 Seven months later, the congregation celebrated again with the laying of the cornerstone on Sunday, June 24, 1923. According to the Austin Statesman, hundreds of people, including many Texas dignitaries, attended services at the site. Dr. P. W. Horn, then president of Southwestern University at Georgetown and described in the article as “one of the most prominent Methodists of the state,” gave the main address following the hymn, “How Firm a Foundation.”60 The theme of the event appeared to be political and social stability, as all of the speakers emphasized 54 “Contracts Awarded for Construction of New First M. E. Church,” Austin Statesman, March 22, 1923: 10. 55 Christopher Long, “Thomas, Roy Leonidas,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed May 15, 2023, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/thomas-roy-leonidas. Published by the Texas State Historical Association, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/thomas-roy-leonidas 56 Though he did not enjoy Sanguinet and Staats’ statewide reputation, Thomas became one of the most prominent and prolific architects in Austin, from the 1910s, through the 1950s, and into the 1960s. In the scope of his career, First Methodist Church (1922-1928), may have been a catalyst for his segue from primarily residential commissions to more complex public and institutional buildings. Examples of his institutional projects in Austin include Lee Elementary School (1939), Tarrytown Methodist Church (1947), and Ebenezer Baptist Church (1955). Both the Handbook of Texas and AIA Historical Directory entries for Thomas list First Methodist Church as one of his major works. Ibid. 57 “New First Methodist Church to be Magnificent Structure,” Austin Statesman, March 26, 1922:12. 58 Ibid. 59 “Methodists Break Ground for Their New $175,000 CH,” Austin Statesman, December 6, 1922: 1. 60 Masons Lay Cornerstone of New M.E. Church,” Austin Statesman, June 24, 1923: 1. Page 27 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas the church’s role in maintaining law and order. City of Austin Mayor, W. D. Yett, summed up the speakers’ views when he congratulated the congregation for their “progress and initiative and hoped that the church will be a vital community factor in perpetuating law and order throughout Texas.”61 The grey granite cornerstone was laid at the northeast corner of the building on the Colorado Street side facing the Capitol. Engraved on the east side of the stone are the words: First Methodist Church, South, 1840 Rev. John Haynie, first pastor 1923 Edward R. Barcus, pastor Building Committee: R. W. Finley, chairman R. H. Kirby, W. H. Stacy, S. B. Roberdeau, J. W. McClendon, C. A. Wilcox, E. P. Cravens, M. W. Levell, C. T. Rather, E. E. Young, W. T. Williams. Sanguinet, Staats, Hedrick, & Roy L. Thomas, architects J. F. Johnson, contractor The north side of the stone is engraved with scripture: “Whom do men say that I The son of Man am? Thou art the Christ The son of the living God Upon this rock I will build my Church And the gates of hell Shall not prevail against it”62 First Methodist Church entered a new era on December 2, 1923, when the congregation occupied the “first unit”—a covered basement that alone cost $125,000 (Figure 3). By that date, the forecast for the complete church had risen to $250,000, reflecting cost pressures that would shadow the project for years.63 Dignitaries marked the occasion— Bishop James E. Dickey delivered the first sermon, and Mrs. Rebecca Fisher, a Methodist for 77 years, was honored. Press accounts at the time were disingenuous, describing a “1,500-seat auditorium”, 31 Sunday School classrooms, and “all of the up-to-date equipment of a modern church,” features that belonged to the future sanctuary rather than to the basement-level first unit then in use.64 After the basement opened, construction on the upper stories stalled for several years, due to cost overruns. The church reopened bidding in July 1927, rejecting multiple proposals as too costly before awarding a contract on August 30, 1927, to Chrisman and Nesbit of Dallas. Their bid—$103,000, “exclusive of plumbing”—brought the expected cost of the upper floors to about $120,000. Yet delays persisted. Within two months the contractors requested another $5,000, and progress slipped again due to “a misunderstanding on the part of the contracting firm with regard to the stone to be used,” according to Rev. W. F. Bryan.65 Throughout this period, the basement remained the congregation’s main assembly space for more than five years, and leadership continuity was tested as construction stretched across the 61 Ibid. 62 “Cornerstone Laid for One, Ground Broken for Another,” Austin American Statesman, June 24, 1923: 21 63 “First Church Opens Doors,” Austin American, December 2, 1923: 29. 64 Ibid. 65 “Austin Church Begins $125,000 Construction to Complete Edifice,” Austin American, October 20, 1927: 2. Page 28 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas pastorates of Dr. Casper A. Wright, Rev. Edward R. Barcus, and ultimately Rev. Bryan, whom the local press captioned the “Builder-Pastor.”66 By June 1928, visible progress resumed: workers were “setting in place the stone gables and… making preparations to construct the roof and dome,” with interior work to follow.67 As scope and finish advanced, the budget rose again. On October 22, 1928, the project’s completion, including furnishings, was reported at $280,000. Additional delays in October–November postponed the move-in— “furniture and certain touching up work on the structure proper” held up completion—and services continued in the basement.68 The long-awaited milestone arrived on Sunday, December 16, 1928, when Rev. W. F. Bryan formally dedicated the finished church, opening with his sermon “First Things First.”69 (Figures 4-5) The day’s public ceremonies involved children and youth and concluded with a sermon by Dr. K. P. Barton, presiding elder. A new rendering published that morning underscored the church’s civic stature, soon touted as one of Austin’s “most noteworthy churches,” rivaling First Baptist Church, St. Mary’s, and First Southern Presbyterian in design.70 The following year, the Minutes of the 4th Quarterly Conference captured the achievement: “Under able leadership of Pastor Bryan, our new church building has been completed and finances stabilized and placed on a business basis; unusual harmony has existed among the various boards and membership of the church – as preacher, pastor, and friend, Dr. Bryan has served us well.”71 A building committee report summarized expenditures for the site, first unit (basement), parsonage, and completion, placing the combined cost at approximately $420,350.48—a testament to the project’s ambition, complexity, and the congregation’s perseverance from 1923 occupancy to 1928 dedication. 1928 First Methodist Church When completed the building rose above an elevated double-door main entrance accessed by a tall, broad staircase from the sidewalk to a full-façade front-projecting portico surmounted by a triangular pediment supported by monumental Ionic columns; the three remaining sides featured symmetrical facades, sans porticos, with full-height Ionic columns and/or pilasters. A large round dome was centered directly above the church auditorium. A host of stained-glass panels and windows fashioned and installed by Jacoby Art Glass Co. of St. Louis, one of the country’s premier stained-glass companies for ecclesiastical buildings, illuminated the auditorium and upper balconies, as well as less formal areas, including classrooms, parlors, the Pastor’s study, even a small kitchen in the basement. The windows were noteworthy for their lack of representational or Biblical imagery; instead, they depicted beautiful scenes from nature or bands of Wrightian geometric shapes to inspire through the aesthetic, rather than “preach” to church members.72 Many of the companies that worked on the church were local firms such as C.A. Maufrais and Weigl Iron Works, but one, Jacoby Art Glass Co., had a national reputation for the design and quality of its church and memorial glass. The company opened in 1896 as Jacoby-Spies Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Missouri, but by the early 1900s, Spies’ name was dropped; in 1907, it was incorporated as Jacoby Art Glass Company with H.H. Jacoby as president and his son, C.C. (Charles) as treasurer. After the deaths of H.H. and Charles, in 1919 and 1922 respectively, Fred 66 Ibid. 67 “Methodists use New Church October 15,” Austin American, June 12, 1928: 10. 68 “Furniture Delays Methodist Opening,” Austin American, December 7, 1928: 14. 69 “Methodists Plan Dedication Service,” Austin American, December 15, 1928: 1. 70 Ibid. 71 Minutes of the 4th Quarterly Conference, October 17, 1929, minute book on file in church archives. 72 Amy Wink, interview with Terri Myers, July 6, 2023. Page 29 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Oppliger, who had started as a draftsman and glass painter, bought the majority interest in the company but retained the Jacoby name, undoubtedly because of its widespread reputation by the 1920s. Oppliger went on to become president of the Stained Glass Association of America in 1927-1928, the period in which First Methodist Church of Austin contracted with the company for its stained glass.73 Jacoby Art Glass hired “Artist/Representatives,” stained glass artists who traveled primarily throughout the Midwest and South, including Texas, to sell or represent their work and the company to prospective buyers, all of which were churches. The artist for the stained glass in First Methodist Church is unknown, but two men stand out among the company’s employees in the 1920s: C. J. Andrew and Douglas MacKay. C. J. (Charles) Andrew designed and sold many windows in his 35-years with the company, from the early 1920s through 1954, Some of his more notable designs and installations were for churches in Texas: First Methodist, Longview; University Baptist, Fort Worth; University Christian, Fort Worth; Brownway Baptist, Fort Worth; and “62-magnificent stained glass windows” in the Armstrong-Browning Library on Baylor University campus in Waco.74 Englishman Douglas McKay (Mac), was the principal glass painter and longtime employee of the company from the 1920s until his death in 1954.75 The stained-glass windows of First Methodist Church were not meant to be representational, i.e., depicting figures or events from the Bible, but rather, inspirational as works of art and beauty in color and design. Some, including most of the round-arched windows in the upper balcony display beautiful scenes from nature such as streams running through a meadow or mountains rising above the plain, while others, such as the stained glass windows and doors on the main floor, are more abstract, almost Wrightian in their geometric bands and patterns. Dr. Amy Wink, adjunct professor of English at Austin Community College and a member of the congregation, likened the stained-glass windows to the non-representational glass of the Hagia Sophia that combined color, light, and curvilinear, almost feminine, form as works of art intended to inspire, rather than instruct.76 In addition to the sanctuary, First Methodist Church also built a new two-story brick parsonage designed by Thomas at a cost of $12,000.77 The low-pitched hipped roof dwelling with a centered hipped roof porch set on brick piers reflected Thomas’s penchant for Prairie School design, an idiom he employed in several other residential commissions in Austin.78 Education Building (1952) After World War II, First Methodist Church experienced renewed growth as returning veterans married, started families, and expanded the congregation’s need for Sunday school classrooms, meeting rooms, and space for its many community programs. By 1946, under the leadership of Rev. Kenneth Pope, the church resolved to build a new parsonage outside downtown and convert the old parsonage beside the sanctuary into a Youth Center, but a nationwide housing shortage left church leaders scrambling to find a suitable temporary residence for the pastor’s family, prompting repeated newspaper notices throughout late 1946 and mid-1947 seeking an available rental. In the 73 “Timeline from William H. Oppliger’s A Short History of the Jacoby Studios,” Stained Glass 94, no. 3 (Fall 1999): 207-213) https://libanswers.cmog.org/loader?fid=9158&type=1&key=8ebc64e5d13937917ef191a8a0723756 74 Baylor University website, Libraries, Museums, and the Press, Armstrong Browning Library and Museum: Architecture, accessed online by Terri Myers, February 26, 2024, https://jacoby.tropicalsails.com/; https://library.web.baylor.edu/visit/armstrong-browning-library-museum/about/architecture 75 “Timeline . . .” 76 Amy Wink, interview with Terri Myers, July 6, 2023. 77 Ibid. 78 Nicole Villalpando, “Tracing the past through the home of Austin architect Roy L. Thomas,” Austin American-Statesman, September 4, 2016, accessed online by Terri Myers, March 7, 2024, https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2016/09/04/tracing- the-past-through-the-home-of-austin-architect-roy-l-thomas/10033212007/ Page 30 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas meantime, the congregation maximized space within the main building, completing an auditorium, six Sunday school classrooms, and other improvements by the summer of 1949, even as construction finally began on the new parsonage at Gaston and Jefferson Streets and the old parsonage underwent conversion for educational use. The renovated structure soon proved inadequate for the church’s rapidly expanding programs, however, and within two years it was demolished to make way for a modern Education Building. In the early postwar years, as many downtown churches began moving to the suburbs, First Methodist Church remained dedicated to maintaining its presence in the central city. Their decision to raze the parsonage and build a modern, multi-story Education Building on the site next to the church reinforced their commitment to downtown. Designed in a Modern style by Austin architect Carl H. Stautz, AIA, and built by contractors O’Connell, Morton and Morrow, the building was begun in 1951 and completed in 1952 under the pastorate of Rev. Marvin S. Vance.79 (Figures 7-9) By the end of World War II, Stautz had become a familiar figure in Austin’s design and construction circles. Born in Bloomington, Illinois, in 1909, he studied at the University of Illinois before moving to Austin in 1928 and graduating from the University of Texas in 1934. He worked with architect R. L. White on several campus buildings, earned his architectural license in 1938, and then served three years in the U.S. Army as a coordinating engineer during the war. After returning to Austin, Stautz established a home office on Exposition Boulevard and quickly expanded from residential work to larger commissions across Texas. By 1951 he had designed more than 100 buildings, including courthouses, hospitals, schools, and churches. His Austin religious projects between 1947 and 1951 included seven buildings at Concordia Lutheran College, St. Mary’s Academy (1947), Westminster Presbyterian Church (1948), and the $250,000 Education Building for First Methodist Church, under construction by October 1951.80 In fact, Stautz’ ecclesiastical designs in the early postwar era could be classified as Modern Movement for their simplicity, absence of ornamentation, and focus on function over style. But they also appear as stripped-down versions of historic architectural styles. His early church designs borrowed from Gothic or Classical Revival stylistic traditions without replicating their characteristic elements; they reflect those antecedents but speak to their own time. For example, Westminster Presbyterian Church and St. Mary’s Academy both feature the steeply pitched entrance gables, telescoping arched doors and lancet windows typical of Gothic Revival style churches but they lack extraneous ornamentation for a sleek, smooth appearance in their stucco walls and simple steeples. Architectural Significance In a 2023 interview, church member Amy Wink, Adjunct Professor of English at Austin Community College, spoke about the social, economic, cultural, and theological influences that resulted in a renewed interest in classical architecture for religious buildings. She described the Neoclassical Revival style of Austin’s First Methodist Church as a reflection of the church’s early twentieth century progressivism as advanced by the Chataqua Movement and other groups dedicated to educate and uplift the lower and working classes.81 The Gilded Age, in which the great industrialists and capitalists – the so-called Robber Barons – over-indulged in “conspicuous consumption,” had another, darker side: the enormous disparity in wealth between the extremely rich, upper class elite and the desperately 79 The church established a building committee to oversee the project; it was composed of Bascom Giles, chairman, and members J. Rector Allen, W. L. Bradfield, Mrs. W.R. Auttenberry, A. B. Spires, Dewitt C. Greer, F. W. Woolsey, Ed. P. Cravens, H. W. Wilson, Ned A. Cole, Willard Houser, Fred H. Matthys, and J. P. Yeates. Cornerstone inscription on the northeast corner of the building. 80 “Delwood Architecture Unique One for Texas, Austin American-Statesman, October 18, 1951: 58). 81 Ibid. Page 31 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas poor lower and working classes, among them droves of Chinese and Eastern European immigrants – over 1,000,000 each year between 1900 and 1915 – who arrived penniless on American shores. But it was also an era in which most Americans were patriotic and proud of the country’s democratic ideals, whether real or imagined. Some of their nationalistic pride was expressed in the Neoclassical architecture of Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exposition. The stately classical columns, pedimented porticos and exact symmetry portrayed of the exposition’s buildings were simply awe-inspiring: pure white monuments of geometric grandeur. Visitors took those images and inspiration back to their cities and hometowns where they tried to replicate them in courthouses, banks, schools, churches, and elegant homes, across the country. Dr. Wink described the Neoclassical Revival style of Austin’s First Methodist Church as harkening back to the democratic ideals of the American Revolution, and further back to the Greeks, who originated the concepts of an egalitarian society and government. They believed those ideals could be translated by the church to alleviate poverty, ignorance, and intolerance through educational and humanitarian programs to educate the illiterate in both children’s and adult Sunday School classes, feed the poor, advocate for equal justice under the law, and support progressive causes including women’s suffrage and racial equality.82 Though recognizing the church’s grand and imposing exterior, Dr. Wink said it was the interior in which the Methodists’ progressive ideals were most evident. Built on an Akron plan, the First Methodist Church was designed to be a place for learning and discourse with curved pews and balconies around a central altar to promote open discussion. The central auditorium itself was meant as a great equalizer with members facing one another across the altar. The stained-glass windows were designed for artistic education, with the idea that middle- and working-class people should have an opportunity to view and appreciate art and beauty as much as the upper classes. In addition, the art was intentionally chosen to be inspirational, rather than representational, that is, it was to delight and inspire the viewer to derive their own meaning from them, rather than instruct them on the “right” way they should be interpreted.83 The First Methodist Education Building exhibits subdued elements of the Neoclassical Main Building with its symmetrical main façade, “suggested” pilasters and corners, and raised foundation, though it, too, has the clean lines and smooth stucco walls of the Presbyterian and Catholic church buildings. The only ornaments on the primary façade of the Education Building are a book, a simple cross, and a pair of light fixtures on either side of the entrance. The Education Building takes its Neoclassical cues from the Main Building but does not complete with it; the effect is modern and reverent, rather than replication. First United Methodist Church is an excellent example of a Neoclassical Revival style ecclesiastical building in downtown Austin, Texas. The exterior of the Main Building shows an exceptional degree of historic and architectural integrity, especially integrity of design, materials, and workmanship from its construction, 1922-1928. It retains its original pedimented portico and monumental Ionic columns on its principal west and south facades, and Ionic pilasters on its rear, east façade. Non-historic alterations include the removal of original pilaster capitals on the north, least visible side and the replacement of some original wood windows and doors with aluminum windows and doors. However, the Main Building retains its original footprint and form, roof form and dome, fenestration pattern, and character-defining elements of the Neoclassical Revival style, including symmetrical facades, classical columns, triangular Greek pediments, and elevated main floor, all of which convey a strong sense of the time and place in which it was designed and built. 82 Amy Wink, interview with Terri Myers, July 6, 2023. 83 Ibid. Page 32 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas In addition, many of the interior features of the Main Building, especially those in the sanctuary itself, remain intact from the historic period and reflect values of progressive churches of its time. The sanctuary is circular in shape with curved pews meant to allow for easy discourse among attendees through a centered altar; though the altar has been moved to the front of the room, the curvilinear pews still allow attendees to see one another during services and events rather than focus on the altar itself. The layout of the upper balconies is also curvilinear, again, for a sense of community among its members. The most exceptional interior elements are the magnificent Jacoby Art Glass Co. stained-glass windows in round-arch wood frames on the upper balconies and in paneled doors in the auditorium and elsewhere in the building. Other decorative elements in the sanctuary include Ionic pilasters on the front wall, intricate plaster detail in the ceiling, and central illuminated dome. Likewise, the 1952 Education Building conveys a good sense of its time and place in early postwar Austin. It is a modest, understated example of Modern Movement ecclesiastical buildings built in the late 1940s and early- to mid- 1950s with minimalist classical elements perhaps in homage to its grand Neoclassical neighbor; the front of the building is symmetrical with flat limestone pilasters at the corners and between the bays that very subtly suggest columns. On the main façade, the centered, double-door entrance is flanked with original light fixtures; decorative details include a cross design and Bible in relief above the entrance. The Education Building retains its form and footprint, roof design with its low, stepped back parapet and stylized cross. It retains its original window and door openings and lancet arch stained-glass windows on the south elevation and inside wall of the chapel. However, the original wood windows and doors have been replaced with aluminum substitutes. However, these alterations do not detract significantly from the building’s ability to convey a sense of history as a modest postwar Modern Movement auxiliary in deference to the Main Church Building next door. Conclusion First Methodist Church is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C, in the area of Architecture at the local level of significance. The Main Building is an excellent, remarkably intact example of the Neoclassical Revival style as applied to ecclesiastical buildings in the early twentieth century. One of at least four Neoclassical Revival style churches designed at the same time, it survives its closest rival, the similarly impressive First Baptist Church, which was demolished and replaced with a Brutalist building in 1970 (Figure 12). Another Neoclassical Revival style Methodist Church planned for Hyde Park in the same era was never built, leaving the only other Neoclassical Revival style church, South Austin Methodist Church. While the South Austin Church is a good, intact example of Neoclassical Revival ecclesiastical architecture and a contributing resource in the Travis Heights- Fairview Park National Register District, it is smaller in size and scale, with more modest architectural elements and design features befitting its role as a neighborhood church as compared with the powerful and magnificent First Methodist Church in downtown Austin. Page 33 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Bibliography Books and Published Articles Hafertepe, Kenneth (1986). “Austin Buildings” in Hank Tood Smith/Ghost Writers, ed. Austin: Its Architects and Architecture (1836-1886). Austin, Texas: Austin Chapter American Institute of Architects, 1896. Henry, Jay C. Architecture in Texas, 1895-1945. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1993. Humphrey, David C. Austin: An Illustrated History. United States of America: Windsor Publications, Inc., 1985. McCullar, Michael (1986). “Building Austin” in Hank Todd Smith/Ghost Writers, ed. Austin: Its Architects and Architecture (1836-1986). Austin, Texas: Chapter American Institute of Architects, 1986. Nominations/Applications for Historical Designations Beeman, Cynthia J., Historian; Jay L. Farrell, Architect; Patti Woolery-Price, Librarian/Archivist. “All Saints Chapel” (National Register nomination submitted January 2015, listed August 24, 2015). Texas Historical Commission/Texas Historic Sites Atlas, https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/NR/pdfs/15000543/15000543.pdf. Accessed March 14, 2024. Bell, Wayne, Project Director; Roxanne Williamson, Architectural Historian. “Gethsemane Lutheran Church” (National Register nomination, submitted April 27, 1970, listed August 25, 1970). Texas Historical Commission/Texas Historic Sites Atlas, https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/. Accessed March 11, 2024. “Scarbrough Building” (Recorded Texas Historic Landmark application submitted 2001, designation 2002). Texas Historical Commission/Texas Historic Sites Atlas, https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/. Accessed March 11, 2024. Williams, Joe R., Preparer. “St. David’s Episcopal Church” (National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form, May 22, 1977, listed August 2, 1978), Texas Historical Commission/Texas Historic Sites Atlas, https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/NR/pdfs/78002994/78002994.pdf. Accessed March 9, 2024. Online Articles and Websites “27 Million People . . . “ Google, https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1- d&q=How+many+people+attended+the+1893+Columbian+Exposition%3F. Accessed March 11, 2024. “Architecture,” Armstrong Browning Library and Museum, Baylor University website, https://library.web.baylor.edu/visit/armstrong-browning-library-museum/about/architecture. Accessed February 26, 2024. Hafertepe, Kenneth. “Cook, Abner Hugh,” Handbook of Texas Online, Austin, Texas, Texas State Historical Association, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/cook-abner-hugh. Accessed March 11, 2024. “History,” First United Methodist Church (website), https://fumcaustin.org/about-us/history/. Accessed February 29, 2024. “History of Jacoby Stained Glass Studios, Inc.,” Jacoby Art Glass Company, St. Louis, MO, https://jacoby.tropicalsails.com/. Accessed February 26, 2024. Long, Christopher. “Thomas, Roy Leonidas,” Handbook of Texas Online. Austin, Texas, Texas State Historical Association, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/thomas-roy-leonidas. Accessed online May 15, 2023 Robinson, Willard B. “Church Architecture” (December 1, 1994, updated March 23, 2021) Handbook of Texas Online, Austin, Page 34 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Texas, Texas State Historical Association, https://www.tshaonline.org/about/people/willard-b-robinson. Accessed February 26, 2024. “Sanguinet and Staats (firm),” AIA Historical Directory, created by Nancy Hadley, Dec. 18, 2019, source: Alexander Architectural Archive, University of Texas Libraries, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, https://aiahistoricaldirectory.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AHDAA/pages/37884941/ahd4006039. Accessed May 14, 2023. “Timeline from William H. Oppliger’s A Short History of the Jacoby Studios,” Stained Glass 94, no. 3 (Fall 1999), https://libanswers.cmog.org/loader?fid=9158&type=1&key=8ebc64e5d13937917ef191a8a0723756. Accessed February 29, 2024. “University United Methodist Church” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_United_Methodist_Church. Accessed February 6, 2024. Villalpando, Nicole. “Tracing the past through the home of Austin architect Roy L. Thomas,” Austin American-Statesman, September 4, 2016, https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2016/09/04/tracing-the-past-through-the-home-of-austin-architect-roy- l-thomas/10033212007/. Accessed March 7, 2024. Volz, John. “St. David’s Episcopal Church,” Volz & Associates Inc.: Architecture and Interior Design, Project Page, https://volzassociates.com/projects/st-davids/. Accessed March 9, 2024. Newspaper Articles “Among Articles Found,” The Austin Statesman. Austin, Texas: June 26, 1923: 10. Austin Daily Statesman. Austin, Texas: June 1, 1914: 10. The Austin American. Austin, Texas: January 2, 1947: 15. “Austin Church Begins $125,000 Construction to Complete Edifice,” The Austin American. Austin, Texas: October 20, 1927: 2 Austin Statesman. Austin, Texas: October 22, 1928: 12. “Building Fund for Church Complete: New Home for First Baptists Soon; Methodists Also Planning,” Ausitn Daily Statesman. Austin, Texas: June 1, 1914: 10. “Building Fund is $47,475,” Austin Daily Statesman. Austin, Texas: April 19, 1914: 9. “Church Bids are Rejected,” Sunday American Statesman. Austin, Texas: August 21, 1927: 2. “Churches,” Austin Daily Statesman. Austin, Texas: December 17, 1886: 3. “Church Notices,” The Austin American. Austin, Texas: March 11, 1916: 8. “Church Takes $120,000 Bids,” The Austin American. Austin, Texas: August 30, 1927: 10. “Contract for Church Awarded,” Austin Daily Statesman. Austin, Texas: February 26, 1915:10. “Contract for $200,000 Methodist Church Given Austin Builder; Work Will Begin Next Week,” The Austin Statesman. Austin, Texas: February 28, 1923: 1. “Contracts Awarded for Construction of New First M. E. Church,” The Austin Statesman. Austin, Texas: March 22, 1923: 10. “Cornerstone Laid for One, Ground Broken for Another,” Austin American. Austin, Texas: June 24, 1923: 21 Page 35 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas “Cornerstone of Old First Methodist Church Opened; Copy of Statesman of Sept. 6, 1883, Among Articles Found,” The Austin Statesman. Austin, Texas: June 26, 1923: 10. “Delwood Architecture Unique One for Texas,” Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas: October 18, 1951: 58. “First Baptists Discuss Plans for New Church,” Austin Daily Statesman. Austin, Texas: January 19, 1914: 6. “First Church Opens Doors,” The Austin American. Austin, Texas: December 2, 1923: 29. “First Methodist Church to be Splendid Edifice,” The Statesman. Austin, Texas: Jan 26, 1919: 12. “First Methodists Become Owners of New Church Site,” The Austin Statesman. Austin, Texas: January 24, 1921: 1. “Furniture Delays Methodist Opening,” The Austin American. Austin, Texas: December 7, 1928: 14. “Masons Lay Cornerstone of New M.E. Church,” The Austin Statesman. Austin, Texas: June 24, 1923: 1. “Methodists Break Ground for Their New $175,000 CH,” The Austin Statesman. Austin, Texas: December 6, 1922: 1. “Methodists Delay till After War,” Austin Daily Statesman. Austin, Texas: March 13, 1915: 4. “Methodists Number 3000: Denomination Has Nine Churches in City – Three Plan to Build,” The Austin Statesman – Prosperity Edition. Austin, Texas: March 8, 1914: 57. “Methodists of Texas are Concentrating Effort on Victory Loan – Work for Selves Later,” The Statesman. Austin, Texas: April 20, 1919: 6. “Methodists Plan Dedication Service,” The Austin American, Austin, Texas: December 15, 1928: 1. “Methodists Use New Church October 15,” The Austin American. Austin, Texas: June 12, 1928: 10. “Much Building of Churches is Being Delayed: Only First Baptist Plans to Go Forward at Once,” Austin Daily Statesman. Austin, Texas: November 30, 1914: 8. “Much Building Under Way Here, Even Now,” Austin Daily Statesman. Austin, Texas: December 23, 1913: 13. “New First Methodist Church to be Magnificent Structure,” The Austin Statesman. Austin, Texas: March 26, 1922: 12. “New Methodist Church,” The Statesman. Austin, Texas: September 6, 1883: 4. “Plans on File for $300,000 Delwood Area,” Austin American-Statesman. Austin, Texas: December 13, 1950: 25. “Sealed Bids Wanted,” The Austin American. Austin, Texas: August 1, 1927: 7. “Site Recommended for First Methodist Church Building,” The Statesman. Austin, Texas: March 30, 1919: 24. “Workers Pushing Financing of Proposed New Methodist Church,” The Austin Statesman. Austin, Texas: August 7, 1922: 8. Documents and Inscriptions from First United Methodist Church Archives Cornerstone inscription on the Main Building. Page 36 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Cornerstone inscription on the Education Building. “History of the church: 1840-2019,” typescript in church archives accessed July 2023. Minutes of the 4th Quarterly Conference, October 17, 1929, minute book in church archives, accessed July 2023. “First Church Austin,” Quarterly Conference Record, January 3, 1923, to October 18, 1926, in Church Archives Schmidt, Bruno (attributed author). “First United Methodist Church, Austin, Texas: An Historical Summary,” typescript in church archives accessed July 2023. Oral Histories with Church Members Ausley, Robbie. Interview with Terri Myers Hawkins, Tom. Interview with Terri Myers Jones, Kathleen. Interview with Terri Myers Wink, Amy. Interview with Terri Myers, July 6, 2023. Correspondence and Other Sources Heimsath, Ben, architect Heimsath Architects, comments on draft nomination, 2023. Stone, Sandy, architect Heimsath Architects, comments on first draft nomination 2023. Stone, Sandy, architect Heimsath Architects, comments on second draft nomination April 12, 2024. Tipton, Bonnie. “First UMC: Determination of Eligibility Response,” October 13, 2022, email correspondence to Terri Myers. Page 37 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Maps Map 1: Red pin indicates 1201 Lavaca Street, Austin, Travis County. Source: Google Maps (6/28/24) Map 2: The nominated boundary is the Property ID# 196998 (shaded yellow) and described by Travis CAD as LOT 1- 3 * PLUS S1/2 OF ADJ VAC ALLEY BLOCK 148 ORIGINAL CITY. Source: Travis CAD (6/28/24) Page 38 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Map 3: Austin, First Methodist Church 30.274833° -97.742587° Source: Google Earth (6/28/24) Page 39 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figures Figure 1: Main Building at 1201 Lavaca Street and adjacent Parsonage facing Colorado Street. Source: Sanborn Fire Insurance Company, Map of Austin, 1935. Page 40 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 2: Main Building (1922-1928), Education Building (1952), which replaced the Parsonage. Both buildings front onto Lavaca Street. Source: Sanborn Fire Insurance Company, Map of Austin, 1961. Page 41 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 3: East facades of "first unit” and parsonage (razed 1951) facing Colorado Street and the Capitol grounds. Note the residential setting to the north. Photo c. 1923 (Opening of parsonage reported in Austin Statesman, April 5, 1923, page 5). Photo Source: Church Archives. Page 42 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 4: As the new First Methodist Church neared completion in December 1928, a more accurate rendering of the building appeared in the local newspaper. Image credit: Austin American, December 16, 1928: 2. Page 43 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 5: Shortly after First Methodist Church was completed it was featured in this postcard, “Churches of Austin, Texas” where it was displayed among other prominent church buildings, including the Classical Revival style First Baptist Church. Photo credit: https://austinpostcard.com/postcards/23515a.jpg Page 44 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 6: Contemporaneous Neoclassical Churches. (Top) First Baptist Church, another Neoclassical Church at 10th and Colorado Streets, 1915-1916 (demolished 1970). (Below) South Austin Methodist Church at 205 E. Monroe Street. Page 45 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 7: Masonic Cornerstone Ceremony for Education Building, 1952. Architect Carl H. Stautz; Contractors: O’Connell, Morton, and Morrow. Photo Source: Portal to Texas History, Cornerstone ceremony metaph74812_m_ND- 52-141-08.med_res. Page 46 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 8: Education Building designed by Austin architect Carl H. Stautz built in 1954, West facade. Note original pilasters on north façade of Main Building, since removed. Douglas Neal, photographer. Photo source: Portal to Texas History, metaph19368_m_web-nd-53-389-01. Page 47 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 9: Oblique View of Education Building and Main Building, North and West facades with good view of the dome, camera facing Southeast. Photo Credit: Texas Historical Commission Survey, 1979. Source: Portal to Texas History, First United 1979 oblique, metaph673575_m_THC_07-0162.med_res. Page 48 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 10: Historic front elevation architectural plan. Page 49 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 11: Historic rear elevation architectural plans. Source: Page 50 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 12: Historic ground floor (basement) plans. Source: Page 51 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 13: Historic sanctuary and balcony plans. Source: Page 52 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 14: Current Basement (first floor) plans. Source: Page 53 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 15: Current basement (2nd floor) plans. Source: Page 54 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 16: Current 3rd floor (sanctuary level) plans. Source: Page 55 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Figure 17: Current Mezzanine (4th floor) plans. Source: Page 56 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Current Photographs As of March 2026, the Main Building is covered in scaffolding while its exterior undergoes restoration. For the purposes of this review, the nomination includes photographs taken in 2022, as the building’s integrity remains unchanged. Photo 1: Scaffolding currently covers First Methodist Church for the ongoing restoration. The 1952 Education Building is in the foreground and the 1962 Westgate Tower (NRHP 201084) is in the background. Looking southeast. 84 The Westgate Tower NRHP application is online: https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/NR/pdfs/10000820/10000820.pdf Page 57 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 2: FUMC Main Building, built 1922-1928, west – primary - facade, camera facing east. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Page 58 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 3: FUMC Main Building, south façade, setting with trees and esplanade along 12th Street, camera facing north. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Page 59 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 4: Setting - State Capitol Building and grounds to the rear (east) of FUMC Main Building,, camera facing east/northeast. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Page 60 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 5: FUMC Main Building, oblique view, south (12th Street side) and east (Colorado Street side) facades, camera facing northwest. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Page 61 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 6: FUMC Main Building, oblique, east, and north elevations, camera facing west/southwest. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Page 62 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 7: Exterior of the dome, looking west. (11 20 2026). Page 63 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 8: Narthex, looking northeast. Page 64 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 9: Sanctuary, looking east. Page 65 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 10: Sanctuary, looking southwest. Page 66 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 11: Dome and oculus on sanctuary ceiling. Page 67 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 12: Balcony detail, looking south. Page 68 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 13: Original window in sanctuary, looking south. Page 69 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 14: Detail of original pews and long-leaf pine floors. Page 70 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 15: View of sanctuary from balcony, looking southwest. Page 71 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 16: Original balcony seating and wood floor. Page 72 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 17: Darting and pilaster detail on balcony wall, looking northeast. Page 73 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 18: Jacoby-stained glass windows on south balcony wall. Page 74 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 19: Alterations to wall material in stairwell. Page 75 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 20: Basement threshold from 1928 Main Building to 1952 Education Building, looking north. Page 76 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 21: West elevation of 1952 Education Building, looking east. Page 77 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 22: Detail façade of 1952 Education Building. Page 78 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 23: The two buildings are connected by breezeways on the street-level and internally connected at the basement level. Looking east. Page 79 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 24: North elevation, 1952 Education Building, looking south. Page 80 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 25: FUMC campus between Main Building (left) and Education Building (right), east side of fenced breezeway, camera facing west. Photo: Terri Myers, July 14, 2022. Page 81 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 26: East elevation, Education Building, looking west. Page 82 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 27: Cornerstone of 1952 Education Building on east façade. Page 83 SBR Draft United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places REGISTRATION FORM NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Methodist Church, Austin, Travis County, Texas Photo 28: Murchison Chapel inside 1952 Education Building, camera facing east. (8/1/2023) Page 84 SBR Draft