First United Methodist Church is located in downtown

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It has been listed on 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 ...

since 1984 as First Methodist Episcopal Church, which is its original name.

History

The congregation was organized through a series of Bible Study meetings that were held in Rathburn Cabin in 1845. Early church services were also held in cabins in the early years. The first church building for the congregation was constructed in 1848 on Fifth Street, south of Walnut, and a larger brick structure was built on the same site in 1856. Four years later the congregation lost ownership of the building and had to rent the basement of the building for three years while the main sanctuary was used as a public hall for concerts, lectures, and the like. Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church and First Church merged in 1880, leaving First as the only downtown Methodist congregation. with The congregation dedicated a new church on Ninth Street in 1881. By 1906 the congregation numbered a thousand members even after it had founded 11 other Methodist congregations in the city. The groundbreaking for the present church was begun in 1905, and the

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

was laid during a ceremony on July 21, 1906. The church building was dedicated on June 14, 1908. A major restoration of the building was completed in 1940 with a new

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

and altar,

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

, a new pew arrangement, and a renewal of the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

. The education wing was built in 1954. A new Reuter organ was added in 1962-1963 as was the marble backdrop and the

Celtic Cross upright 0.75 , A Celtic cross symbol The Celtic cross is a form of ringed cross, a Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring, that emerged in the British Isles and Western Europe in the Early Middle Ages. It became widespread through its u ...

. In 1980 a historical mural was dedicated in the west balcony. The dome and the sanctuary were renovated in 2007. The congregation went through two name changes in its history. In 1939 it became First Methodist after the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

, and the

Methodist Protestant Church The Methodist Protestant Church (MPC) is a Methodist denomination of Christianity that is based in the United States. It was formed in 1828 by former members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, being Wesleyan in doctrine and worship, but adopt ...

merged to form the

Methodist Church 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 ...

. In 1968 another change to First United Methodist Church occurred when the Methodist Church merged with the

Evangelical United Brethren Church The Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) was a North American Protestant denomination from 1946 to 1968 with Arminian theology, roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities, and close ties to Methodism. It was formed by the merg ...

Architecture

The congregation hired the prominent Des Moines architectural firm of

Proudfoot & Bird Proudfoot & Bird was an American architectural firm that designed many buildings throughout the Midwest region of the United States. Originally established in 1882, it remains active through its several successors, and since 2017 has been known as ...

to design the present church. Because the estimated cost of $175,000 was too high, some of the decorative details of the planned church were not executed. The Neoclassical-style building features a symmetrical plan in monumental proportions, a large

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

ed portico supported by

Ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...

, plain exterior surfaces of Bedford stone, and a Roman glass and copper dome that is capped by a Latin cross. The building's proportions are said to match those of the Pantheon in Rome.

Pipe organ

The church's

Reuter Organ Company Reuter Organ Company is a pipe organ builder located in Lawrence, Kansas. History Establishment The Reuter Organ Company was founded in 1917 by A.C. Reuter, Earl Schwarz and Henry Jost as the Reuter-Schwarz Organ Company in Trenton, Illino ...

Opus 1412 installed in 1963. It is located in chambers on the sides of the sanctuary with no visible pipes. The instrument has a traditional style console in a fixed position, and it has a roll top. It features electro-pneumatic chests, three manuals, four divisions, 62 stops, 50 registers, 62 ranks, and 3,435 pipes. The manual compass is 61 notes, while the pedal compass is 32 notes. The drawknobs are in vertical rows on angled jambs. The balanced swell shoes/pedals are standard AGO placement. Rounding out the features are adjustable combination pistons, AGO Standard (concave radiating) pedalboard, reversible full organ/tutti thumb piston, reversible full organ/tutti toe stud, combination action toe studs, coupler reversible thumb pistons, and coupler reversible toe studs. Stop list: GREAT * 16' Sub Principal 61 * 8' Principal 61 * 8' Bourdon 61 * 4' Octave 61 * 4' Spillflöte 61 * 2' Fifteenth 61 * IV Fourniture 244 * III Scharf 183 * 16' Dulzian PO * 8' Trumpet 61 ** Sub ** Unison off ** Super * 8' Fanfare Trumpet 61 a ** Chimes POSITIV * 8' Copula 61 * 8' Salicional 61 b * 8' Flauto Dolce 61 b * 8' Flute Celeste 54 b * 4' Principal 61 * 4' Koppelflöte 61 * 4' Cor de Nuit 61 b * 2' Principal 61 * 1⅓' Larigot 61 * 1' Sifflöte 61 *III Cymbale 183 * 16' Dulzian 61 * 8' Krummhorn 61 * 8' Baryton 61 b * 4' Regal 61 ** Tremolo ** Unison Off * 16' Fanfare Trumpet tc * 8' Fanfare Trumpet GT * 4' Fanfare Trumpet GT SWELL *16' Sub Principal 61 * 8' Principal 61 * 8' Bourdon 61 * 4' Octave 61 * 4' Spillflöte 61 * 2' Fifteenth 61 *IV Fourniture 244 *III Scharf 183 *16' Dulzian PO * 8' Trumpet 61 ** Sub ** Unison off ** Super * 8' Fanfare Trumpet 61 a * Chimes PEDAL *32' Acoustic Bourdon -- *16' Principal 32 *16' Bourdon 32 *16' Sub Principal GT * 16' Lieblichbordun SW * 8' Octave 32 * 8' Gedeckt 32 * 8' Sub Principal GT * 8' Flauto Dolce SW * 4' Choralbass 32 * 4' Coppel 32 * 2' Waldflöte 32 * II Sesquialter 64 *III Mixtur 96 * 16' Bombarde 32 * 16' Dulzian PO * 8' Bombarde 12 * 8' Dulzian PO * 4' Schalmei 32 * 4' Dulzian PO

Charity work

In 1992, First United Methodist Church joined with seven other churches in the Des Moines area and created the Churches United Shelter (now the Central Iowa Shelter), to combat homelessness in the area.CISS Broke Ground on New Opportunity Center

References

External links

Church Website
{{Polk County, Iowa historic places of worship Religious organizations established in 1845 Churches completed in 1908 United Methodist churches in Iowa Neoclassical architecture in Iowa Churches in Des Moines, Iowa Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Des Moines, Iowa 1845 establishments in Iowa Territory Neoclassical church buildings in the United States