Laughter, Falling Water and Time
Completed in October of 1887, the Swedish Tabernacle still stands on the northeast corner of 7th and Chicago Avenue. Way back when, the building’s 2,500 seat assembly hall was the biggest meeting place in Minneapolis. During the 1890’s, the Swedish Tabernacle hosted tremendous gatherings of city-wide interest. Explorers, scientists, statesmen, and preachers spoke here on … Read more
The Rev. Benjamin Close organized the Market Street church on December 31, 1848. The modest house of worship, built for less than $3000 was the first Protestant church in the territory and the first brick building in St. Paul. In 1855 a new church building was built at 9th and Jackson. The congregation had agreed … Read more
The Union City Mission organized by the churches of all denominations in 1895 and incorporated as an interdenominational institution. Its affairs are managed by a board of 15 business men. In 1916 it occupied its present quarters — Hennepin Av. and 2nd St. —where it maintains the new, fire-proof, 12-story St. James Hotel, lodging house … Read more
Begun 1906; opened for services 1915; interior work continued to completion 1956. E. L. Masqueray, architect. Classic Renaissance adaptation of Romanesque architecture. 3071/2 ft. to top of cross: 381 ft. long (including sacristy). 216 ft. wide. Built of Minnesota granite. Main features: magnificent dome: sculptured details on exterior; heroic sculptured statues in stately beautiful marble … Read more
You can’t tell by looking at this old photo, but the place where Hennepin and Lyndale Avenues meet was almost as big a traffic snarl in 1943 as it is today. It may have been worse. Back then Minneapolis had close to 100,000 more residents and many more shopping working and living close to downtown. … Read more
Designed by Thori, Alban and Fischer the corner stone for the the First Methodist Episcopal Church was laid on October 15, 1907 and the building was completed in 1910. A dedication booklet noted that the church faced Holly Avenue in a “situation ideal to show its classic and simple architecture, the massive columns of the … Read more
Westminster Presbyterian church, for the first time in a year and a half, last evening held services In their own house. Since Sept. 5, 1895, the date of the burning of the old church. in which children had grown to maturity. and pastors become hoary in Christian service. Westminster congregation have been church wanderers. For … Read more
In the 1920s, the “Skyscraper Church ” became a popular strategy for downtown churches all over America. The 12 story Wesley Temple Building was associated Wesley United Methodist Church which still stands just to the west at the southeast corner of East Grant Street and 1st Avenue South.The cornerstone was laid November 4, 1928 and … Read more
The Second Congregational Church of Minneapolis was first known as Vine Street Church and later called Park Avenue Congregational. The church founded in 1867 in an enclave of New Englanders on what was the city’s near south side. In the 1870s the first Scandinavian immigrants started showing up in Minneapolis and many settled in and … Read more