Information
About
Design for this commanding Gothic Revival church began in 1854 by architect Norris G. Starkweather, and eventually completed by his chief draftsman, Edmund Lind, who would go on to become a prominent architect in his own right. While the church was dedicated in 1859, the 273-feet tall cast-iron spire (the tallest in the city) wasn’t finished until 1874. The interior boasts many Tiffany stained glass windows, a triple-vaulted sanctuary, and rich plaster tracery. In 1973, First Presbyterian Church merged with the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church to form the First and Franklin Street Presbyterian Church, and in 2012 the congregation voted to rename it First & Franklin Presbyterian Church. In 2009, the local architecture firm, Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects, undertook an extensive restoration plan.
Don’t miss the interior with its unusual color and impressive plasterwork considered one of the finest Victorian plaster interiors in the country.
A note from the Church: “This year we are celebrating two architects who designed two different parts of our campus who if they had been born a century later would likely have been part of the LGBTQ community. As a church with a long record of AIDS and LGBTQ advocacy, we wanted to have this information available and celebrate their work.”
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