First Christian Church - Helena, MT
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T0SHEA
N 46° 35.567 W 112° 02.474
12T E 420240 N 5160440
Fairly centrally located, First Christian Church is in a primarily residential area a few blocks north of downtown Helena.
Waymark Code: WMZFHZ
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 11/03/2018
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While Helena is full of heritage buildings and historic districts, apparently First Christian Church doesn't qualify as a heritage property. While built in 1885, making it one of the older extant churches in the city, it has not yet achieved heritage status.
A Gothic Revival church built entirely of stone, it could possibly qualify as a High Victorian Gothic building. The majority of the stone is rough faced brown or grey in colour, contrasted by red or purple buttresses down each side wall and somewhat smoother mauve window trim with quoins, corbelled mauve stones up each edge of the gable ends and mauve stones forming each corner of the nave. The gable roof is very steeply pitched, as is the matching roof on the wide, shallow narthex. All openings are Gothic arched, the windows of the nave having stained glass. The building rests on a raised basement with rectangular windows. The foundation is also stone. Notably, the church was built without a steeple/bell tower.
In more recent years a large two storey addition was built on the rear of the nave, not the least bit sympathetic in either its design or its usage of materials.
The church's cornerstone, a black granite stone inscribed First Christian Church Erected A.D. 1885, tells us that it has, in all likelihood, always held the same name. The contemporary sign at the church indicates that it is a church of the Disciples of Christ.