Central Presbyterian Church is a church in downtown

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

, United States. The congregation was founded in 1852 and built its first building in 1854, which was later enlarged during the 1870s. The rapidly growing congregation outgrew the building, so they built a new church building in 1889. The building, an example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The arched entrances, a hallmark of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, feature a number of carved floral and geometric motifs. The façade is coarsely carved

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

brownstone with a massive 90-foot

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

over the arches. The architect, Warren H. Hayes, laid out the seating in the

Akron Plan The Akron Plan was a scheme for the design of churches and other religious buildings that housed Sunday schools. It was characterized by a set of wedge-shaped classrooms that radiated from the direction of a central superintendent's platform. D ...

. It features a raised semi-circular

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

, which places the speaker in the front of the congregation and at the center of the chancel. The pews are curved and laid out in a semi-circular pattern on a sloping floor. This design, similar to a theater's design, allows each person to see and hear the speaker.

References

External links

*
Central Presbyterian Church
{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 19th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States Akron Plan church buildings Churches completed in 1900 Churches in Saint Paul, Minnesota Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Saint Paul, Minnesota Presbyterian churches in Minnesota Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Minnesota Romanesque Revival church buildings in Minnesota