The former First Church of Christ, Scientist, is an historic

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...

church building located at 700 22nd Street,

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...

, United States. Designed by architect William C. Jones of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in the

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 ...

style, it was built between 1914-1915. Its exterior walls are of brick covered by Bedford limestone. Its superimposed front

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

is supported by six 2 story columns with

egg-and-dart Egg-and-dart, also known as egg-and-tongue, egg-and-anchor, or egg-and-star, is an Ornament (architecture), ornamental device adorning the fundamental quarter-round, convex ovolo profile of molding (decorative), moulding, consisting of alternating ...

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

. Its dome actually consists of 2 domes: an outer dome and an inner dome which are separated by a space for lighting fixtures and maintenance. The inner dome consists of some 8,000 colored fish scale glass panes on a wooden support structure. The inner dome is similar to the inner dome of

First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, which was designed by William C. Jones in 1913. The church building, the second one built in Rock Island by the congregation, is a Rock Island Landmark as designated by the city in 1993. It is also a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

in the Broadway Historic District, which 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 ...

on August 14, 1998. It is one of 4 churches in the district and the only Palladian building.

History

The first Christian Science church that now is called the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...

was

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

. Due to the difficulty in traveling to Davenport, the Rock Island members of the Davenport church in 1895 began holding Friday night ''testimony meetings'' in rented halls in Rock Island, first at the Industrial Home Building at 3rd Avenue and 21st Street and then at the Swedish Baptist Church at 5th Avenue and 21st Street. In April 1896 they were held frequently on 23rd Street south of 8th Avenue and began construction of their own building which would seat 700 people. In October 1896, they formally withdrew from the Davenport church and organized ''First Church of Christ, Scientist, Rock Island, Illinois''.

Current status

First Church of Christ, Scientist, Rock Island, is no longer an active Christian Science church. The building was out of use for about 15 years before it was purchased by David and Marsha Karpeles in 2011. It is now a location for their

Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums is one of the largest private collections of historic manuscripts and documents in the world. It was founded in 1983 by California real estate magnates David Karpeles and , with the goal of stimulating inte ...

.Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum
/ref>

References

External links

The Broadway Historic District
{Dead link, date=December 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Qctimes.tv 12 minute video features external and internal views of the church

Christian organizations established in 1896 Buildings and structures in Rock Island, Illinois Neoclassical architecture in Illinois Churches completed in 1915 20th-century Christian Science church buildings Former Christian Science churches, societies and buildings in Illinois Rock Island Landmark Historic district contributing properties in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Rock Island County, Illinois Neoclassical church buildings in the United States