St. Stephens Methodist Church - Downtown Troy Historic District - Troy, MO - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

County of church: Lincoln County
Location of church: Boone St. & Union St., Troy
City Lot # 188
Date built: 1900-1901
Historic Name: St. Stephens Methodist Church
Current Owner: Credence Church

"211 Boone Street (Contributing)
Located at 211 Boone Street is the former St. Stephens United Methodist Church, most recently used as a funeral chapel. The church was constructed in 1900-1901. The building has a rear (west elevation) educational wing constructed in 1950-1951. The church is a Shingle style building with a steeply pitched, asphalt-shingled gabled roof, exterior brick walls and a raised limestone foundation. The primary (east) elevation faces Union Street. Flanking the primary wing/façade are corner tower bays with flared pyramidal, asphalt-shingled roofs. The southeast tower is one-story in height; the northeast tower is two-and-a-half stories in height and serves as a belfry. Situated on the central façade (recessed between the tower bays) is an open platform/stoop with concrete stairs at either end (north/south) of the stoop. The stairs frame a lower level entrance (below the stoop) that holds a single-light wood panel door flanked by sidelights. Doors are also located at the stoop level, providing entry via both tower wings at either end (north/south) of the elevation. The north tower wing has louvered openings on all elevations. Both towers are clad with decorative wood shingles and hold stained glass lights on the east, north, and south walls. Within the façade’s gable field is a large stained glass light. The stained-glass window is separated horizontally by a decorative sawtooth wood band. The lower half of the window has three two-over-two (horizontal sash) stained glass lights further divided vertically by engaged frame pilasters. The upper half of the window bay is arched and similar in design to the lower window. The front gable field has diamond-shaped and fish scale shingles. Decorative arched wood patterns surround the upper façade window. A louvered vent above the large arched window has a triangular wood pendant below the sill. The building’s side elevations (north and south) hold stained glass lights. The north elevation windows are paired triple-sash design. The south elevation windows are also triple-sash but placed as groups of three. The rear 1950s educational wing (southwest corner) has exterior six-course brick walls and a steeply pitched cross-gabled roof. Several slender stained glass lights extend the full height of the rear wing. Another brick wing is attached at the northwest corner of the church. This wing has a flat roof with metal coping and ten-light, steel sash windows. At the building’s north elevation (east of the rear flat roof corner wing) is another projecting one-story wing with a steeply pitched hipped roof." ~ NRHP Nomination Form

"The congregation of Troy Methodist Church was established in 1859. The building that stands today (currently in use as a funeral chapel) was constructed in 1900 – 1901 on the site of the former church, donated by H.W. Kemper. The cornerstone was laid August 24, 1900. Costs of construction were $5,565, and brick from the former church was used. The cornerstone was laid by Troy Masonic Lodge; and a dedication service was held on February 24, 1901. The basement was enlarged in 1924. An educational wing was added in 1950-51.

"The former church is a Shingle style building with a raised limestone foundation, exterior brick walls, and an asphalt-shingled steeply pitched gable roof. The façade faces east toward Union Street. The building has a front-gable plan with corner tower bays. Centrally at the façade (recessed between the tower bays) is an open platform/stoop with a set of concrete stairs (at either end of the stoop). The stairs frame a lower level entrance (below the stoop) that holds a single-light wood panel door flanked by sidelights. Entrances are also located at the stoop level, providing entry via the tower wings at either end of the façade. The south tower wing is one and a half-story in height. The north wing is 2.0-story in height. Both tower wings have flared pyramidal roofs. The north tower appears to be a belfry. It has louvered openings on all elevations. Tower walls are clad in decorative wood shingles and hold stained glass lights on the east, north, and south walls. Above the center of the façade, within the gable field (also covered with decorative wood shingles), is a large stained glass light. This large window is separated horizontally by a decorative sawtooth wood band. The lower half of the window has three two-over-two (horizontal sash) stained glass lights further divided vertically by engaged frame pilasters. The upper half of the window bay is arched and similar in design to the lower window. The front gable field has diamond-shaped and fish scale shingles. Decorative arched wood patterns surround the upper façade window. A louvered vent above the large arched window has a triangular wood pendant below the sill. The building’s side elevations (north and south) have stained glass lights. The north elevation windows are paired triple-sash design. The south elevation windows are also triple-sash and placed as groups of three. A 1950s educational wing is situated at the building’s southwest corner. This wing has exterior six-course brick walls and a steeply pitched cross-gabled roof. Several slender stained glass lights extend the full height of the rear wing. Another wing projects at the northwest corner of the church. This projection has a flat roof with metal coping, and ten-light, steel sash windows. At the building’s north elevation (just east of the rear flat roof corner wing) is a projection with a steeply pitched hipped roof.

"The parcel is located at the northwest intersection of Boone and Union Streets. The lot borders the downtown commercial district (to the east) and a residential neighborhood toward the west. A public sidewalk extends along the lot’s southern boundary. An asphalt parking lot is located immediately north of the building." ~ Troy Historic Survey  page 12