First Presbyterian Church - Orange, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 30° 05.597 W 093° 44.293
15R E 428866 N 3329351
The magnificent 1st Presbyterian Church building was commissioned by Frances Ann Lutcher as a memorial to the Henry Jacob Lutcher family.
Waymark Code: WMYM2W
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/27/2018
Views: 1
Orange Texas Website
It was built in the classic Greek Revival architectural style and features the only opalescent glass dome in the United States. Granite for the building was quarried and dressed in Llano, Texas, and the marble was cut from living stone and brought from Italy. Construction began in 1908, and the building was dedicated on January 28, 1912.
The building made history by being the first air-conditioned public building west of the Mississippi River. At the time of its construction, sufficient power to operate the system was not available in Orange. Therefore, a private power plant was built adjacent to the church to meet this need. In the spring of 1953, Edgar and Lutcher Brown installed a 2,435-pipe organ in memory of their mother, Carrie Lutcher Brown.