First Church of Christ, Scientist (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

The former First Church of Christ, Scientist, located at 614-620 15th Street, East, in the residential neighborhood of Elliott Park, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. was the first Christian Science church building in Minnesota. It was once surrounded by Victorian homes, but most of them have been replaced by apartment buildings. Minneapolis architect S. J. Bowler designed the building in the Doric order. The facade of the building features a deep portico with two fluted columns holding up a pedimented gable.[1]

First Church of Christ, Scientist
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Minneapolis Landmark
The First Church of Christ, Scientist from the south
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Location	614-620 15th Street East, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coordinates	44°58′6″N 93°16′0″W
Built	1897[1]
Architect	Septimus J. Bowler
Architectural style	Beaux Arts, Renaissance, Classical Revival
NRHP reference No.	86001340[2][3]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 20, 1986
Designated MPLSL	1986

National Register listing

• First Church of Christ Scientist (added 1986 - Building - #86001340)
• 614–620 E. Fifteenth St., Minneapolis
• Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
• Architect, builder, or engineer: Bowler, S.J.
• Architectural Style: Beaux Arts, Renaissance
• Area of Significance: Architecture, Religion
• Period of Significance: 1875-1899
• Owner: Private
• Historic Function: Religion
• Historic Sub-function: Religious Structure
• Current Function: Vacant/Not In Use

Current use

The building was used for several years as a laboratory performance space by the Margolis Brown Adaptors Company under the name 'Physical Theatre Lab'. It has been empty since 2001, and was being advertised for sale by a local real estate broker in 2007.[4]

On January 28, 2012, the church was occupied temporarily by a group calling itself 'Minneapolis Space Liberation', as part of the larger Occupy movement. Approximately 50 people held the church for 45 minutes, during which time they had a dance party and food share. The action was conceived in solidarity with a building occupation in Oakland the same day, and to bring public attention to the many abandoned and neglected properties in the city.

Later history of congregation

In 1914 First Church of Christ, Scientist, built its second edifice at 24th and Nicollet. Designed by noted Minneapolis architect Harry Wild Jones, this building is now the Minneapolis First Seventh-day Adventist Church.[5][6][7]

See also

• List of former Christian Science churches, societies and buildings
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hennepin County, Minnesota

References

1. "First Church of Christ Scientist". City of Minneapolis. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
3. "National Register of Historic Places". National Park Service. 2007-10-12.
4. Office: First Church of Christ Scientist - The Ackerberg Group Archived 2007-12-30 at the Wayback Machine accessed 2007
5. Minneapolis City Council Minutes at page 6
6. Ivey, Paul Eli, Prayers in Stone: Christian Science Architecture in the United States, 1894-1930, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999, p. 141, ISBN 0-252-02445-1
7. Minneapolis First Seventh-day Adventist Church website