Polk Street United Methodist Church - Amarillo, TX
N 35° 11.944 W 101° 50.310
14S E 241575 N 3898811
Built in 1928, Polk Street United Methodist Church has a beautiful Gothic Revival sanctuary at 1401 S Polk St, Amarillo, TX.
Waymark Code: WMZB18
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/11/2018
Views: 4
A 2013 Texas Historical Marker provides some history of this church, a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark:
The congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South was organized on November 23, 1888, by Rev. Isaac Mills, Rev. Jerome Haralson and eight members. The church held title to Parker's Chapel, the first church building constructed in Amarillo in 1889. The building initially housed several denominations that later organized and moved into their own buildings. The Methodist congregation grew significantly and, less than ten years later, it was clear that a much larger building was needed.
In 1899, Rev. J.A. Whitehurst arrived in Amarillo and deeded a lot on Polk Street to the congregation. A Gothic Revival white-frame church was constructed by W.J. Beck in 1902. Known as the "white church," it served the congregation for five years before it was moved across the street to make room for construction of a new, two-story Romanesque Revival style brick church. In 1908, the church changed its name to Polk Street Methodist Church. As attendance grew to over 2,000, the church outgrew its third campus.
The Reuben Harrison Hunt Company designed this Gothic Revival brick structure on Polk Street six blocks south of the previous church. The new building opened in 1928 with additions in 1953 and 2012. Details include pointed arched openings, parapeted gables with limestone coping, lancets, pinnacles and pedimented buttresses. Built with Tudor details, including stained glass windows, the church is designed to be more than a house of worship. Theological education classes are held in the building's many classrooms and community organizations utilize the large meeting halls. This beautiful, historic landmark was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
---
It's fairly obvious that the Continuation Form (see Web Address) from the National Register of Historic Places was used for the Texas Historical Marker, but it elaborates about the architectural detail (slight edit):
"Built in the Gothic Revival style with Tudor details, the Polk Street Methodist Church includes a rectangular sanctuary, and a U-plan education wing around a central courtyard. Gothic Revival details include pointed arched openings, parapeted gables with limestone coping, lancet pinnacles, and pedimented buttresses. Tudor Revival details include the four-centered arched stained glass windows on the west and north elevations, and the castellated stairwell/doorway projecting from the north wall near the alley.
Public/Private: Private
Tours Available?: No
Year Built: 1928
Web Address: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:Category Visiting Requirements
An original photo is necessary to log a visit in this category along with a description of the visit. No extra visit requirements are allowed by the waymarker.