The former First Bible Missionary Church, located in the West End of Davenport, Iowa, United States, is an historic structure 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 building was built as a Congregational Church.

History

The Congregational Church established a congregation in Davenport in 1839 as First Congregational Church and in 1861 it was reorganized as Edward's Congregational Church. The denomination was never large or broad-based in the city and was supported in part by the American Home Mission Society. In 1857 the German Congregational Church was founded with a handful of members. They merged with Bethlehem Congregational Mission in 1909 and formed Berea Congregational Church. Berea was the congregation that built this structure. In 1964 Berea merged with Sunnymead Evangelical and Reformed Church and became Faith United Church of Christ. They occupied the Sunnymead facility in northwest Davenport. This building became First Bible Missionary Church, and it has changed congregations since. It has always housed small

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

congregations.

Architecture

The church building is constructed of brick on a rock-faced stone basement. The structure was designed in no clearly definable architectural style. with It is a cross-

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 ...

d building with a tower in the angle on the east side. The exterior bricks are painted white, and the primary ornamentation of the building are narrow, molded stringcourses and its stained glass windows. It is defined more by its plain surface areas and clean, sharp lines. Also of note are the variety of window shapes employed on the building. Other features include short cornice returns, a

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

ed roof dormer and

palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

-like arrangement of the windows on the east side, all of which suggests Neoclassicism that was popular at the turn of the 20th-century.

References

{{Davenport historic places of worship Churches completed in 1902 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Churches in Davenport, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Davenport, Iowa Congregational churches in Iowa German-American history