First Presbyterian Church in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

is a historic congregation founded in 1873. Its current Romanesque building was designed by noted church architect

Ralph Adams Cram Ralph Adams Cram (December 16, 1863 – September 22, 1942) was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and Church (building), ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival style. Cram and ...

, Mr. Earl N. Dugan ( Sutton, Whitney and Dugan), who was locally in charge of construction, completed in 1925, and is a landmark of the Stadium District. In 2012 the church voted to leave the

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

and affiliate with the more

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...

, ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. The church is adjacent to Tacoma

Bible Presbyterian Church The Bible Presbyterian Church is an American Protestant denomination in the Calvinist tradition. History Origin The Bible Presbyterian Church was formed in 1937, predominantly through the efforts of such conservative Presbyterian clergymen as ...

, which split off of First Presbyterian in 1935 and purchased the neighboring

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the S ...

Masonic Temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history I ...

which fronts on the Wright Park Arboretum.

Tower

Tacoma, WA - First Presbyterian Church cupola 05

The architect, Ralph Adams Cram, was a fervent

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

and devoted to imbuing his designs with rich symbolism. This is most visible at First Presbyterian in the decoration of the tower, which in earlier times served as a landmark for ships approaching the

Port of Tacoma The Port of Tacoma is an independent seaport located in Tacoma, Washington. The port was created by a vote of Pierce County citizens on November 5, 1918. The ''Edmore'' was the first ship to call at the port in 1921. The port's marine cargo oper ...

. It is by wide and tall. The tower houses a two-octave set of

chimes Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within ...

, made by J.C. Deagan Company of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and the balustrade has a niche in the center of each side with a statue of one of the Four Evangelists. Each side of the octagonal dome bears a

Christian symbol Christian symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork or events, by Christianity. It invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas. The symbolism of the early Church was characterized by bei ...

References

External links

{{commons category, First Presbyterian Church, Tacoma, Washington
Official websiteVirtual tour of the sanctuary
Churches in Tacoma, Washington Ralph Adams Cram church buildings ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians Presbyterian churches in Washington (state) 1873 establishments in Washington Territory Churches completed in 1925