Unitarian Church of the Messiah

The Unitarian Church of the Messiah was a church at 508 North Garrison Avenue at the corner of Locust and Garrison Sts. in St. Louis, Missouri, USA and was the third church of the St. Louis congregation of Unitarians, founded in 1835. It was designed by noted Boston-based architects Peabody & Stearns in the Late Victorian style and constructed in 1880 by Charles Everett Clark, one of Peabody & Stearns longtime contractors. The exterior walls were constructed of locally quarried blue limestone with a tawny colored sandstone quarried from Warrensburg, Missouri.[2] The interior walls were faced with buff brick from the Peerless Brick Company of Philadelphia, among other materials.[3] The original roof was made of red slate.

Unitarian Church of the Messiah
Unitarian Church of the Messiah,1940.[1]
Unitarian Church of the Messiah is located in St. Louis
Unitarian Church of the Messiah
Unitarian Church of the Messiah is located in Missouri
Unitarian Church of the Messiah
Unitarian Church of the Messiah is located in the United States
Unitarian Church of the Messiah
LocationLocust and Garrison Sts., St. Louis, Missouri
Coordinates38°38′9″N 90°13′17″W
Area0.7 acres (0.28 ha)
Built1880
ArchitectPeabody & Stearns
Architectural styleLate Victorian
Demolished1987
NRHP reference No.80004513[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 22, 1980
Removed from NRHPDecember 19, 1994

The congregation's first pastor William Greenleaf Eliot initially proposed its construction in January 1877 and commissioned Peabody & Stearns in 1878. The congregation purchased the plot of land in 1879.[4] Ground was broken in November 1879, and the cornerstone laid February 1, 1880. The first service was held on December 26, 1880 with the official dedication on December 16, 1881.[2]

It was designated a St. Louis City Landmark in 1977[5] and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. A fire in January 1982 caused by squatters living in a basement storage room gutted the structure,[4] leading to its eventual demolition in 1987.[6][2] Because of its demolition, it was removed from the National Register in 1994.[2][5]

Ernst R. Kroeger served as organist at the church.

Sketches of the Unitarian Church of the Messiah in St. Louis, Missouri by Peabody and Stearns

References
  1. "HABS MO-1179, Church of the Messiah (Unitarian)". Historic American Buildings Survey. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  2. Mary M. Stiritz and Jill R. Johnson. National Register of Historic Places Registration: Missouri Unitarian Church of the Messiah. File Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: Missouri, 1964 - 2012. National Archives. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  3. "Isometrical Diagrams of a Few Molded and Ornamental Bricks" (1888) [Catalog]. Trade Catalogue Collection. Athenaeum of Philadelphia. OCLC 24535609.
  4. "Fire destroys century-old citychurch". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. January 30, 1982.
  5. "Old Unitarian Church of the Messiah - City Landmark #61". stlouis-mo.gov. St. Louis Cultural Resources Office. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  6. "St. Louis City National Register Listings". dnr.mo.gov. Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved July 14, 2019.


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