First Presbyterian Church is a historic

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church located at the corner of Morgan and Salisbury Streets in downtown

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

Wake County, North Carolina Wake County, officially the County of Wake, is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's List of coun ...

, United States. The church was established in a meeting of Presbyterians at the

North Carolina State House The North Carolina State House was built from 1792 to 1796 as the state capitol for North Carolina. It was located at Union Square in the state capital, Raleigh, in Wake County. The building was extensively renovated in the neoclassical style b ...

(predecessor of the

North Carolina State Capitol The North Carolina State Capitol is the former seat of the legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina which housed all of the state's government until 1888. The Supreme Court and State Library moved into a separate building in 1888, and th ...

) on Jan. 21, 1816. The congregation purchased land at the present location and erected a brick church building that opened its doors on February 7, 1818. The church served as the site for the State Constitutional Convention of 1835 and as the meeting place for the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

for several years. That original structure was torn down and a new church building completed in 1900. It was designed in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

style. The initial design was by architect A.G. Bauer, but Bauer's health problems caused the project to be turned over to architects Charles E. Cassell and Charles Pearson. The sanctuary has been extensively remodeled twice, in 1955 and 2012.

References

Relevant literature

* Jonas, W. Glenn Jr. 2016. ''A Cloud of Witnesses from the Heart of the City: First Presbyterian Church, Raleigh, 1816-2016.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.

External links

First Presbyterian Church website
Churches in Raleigh, North Carolina Presbyterian churches in North Carolina Romanesque Revival church buildings in North Carolina Presbyterian Church (USA) churches Religious organizations established in 1816 {{RaleighNC-struct-stub