The First Methodist Church in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

is a historic church at 502 N. Main Street. It was built as the Wagner Opera House. The main structure was built in

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

style 1874-75 but it was renovated extensively to its current Neoclassical appearance in 1924–25. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1995. It is a brick building. It is unusual in Wisconsin as an urban church building with storefronts at street-level. The building was begun as an opera house, until damaged by a fire in 1874. At that point the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

congregation bought it and completed it as a Neo-Classical-styled church. After they moved to a new building in 1970, it was used by Boys' Club and as a

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homelessness, homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather whi ...

. With .

References

Churches completed in 1924 Churches in Winnebago County, Wisconsin Neoclassical architecture in Wisconsin Italianate architecture in Wisconsin Methodist churches in Wisconsin Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Winnebago County, Wisconsin 1924 establishments in Wisconsin Italianate church buildings in the United States Neoclassical church buildings in the United States {{Wisconsin-church-stub