Two new revival style churches, which stand today, were constructed within the commercial area after the turn-of-the-century. They were the First Baptist Church (1902; 300-308 West Pine Street) and the much larger Methodist Episcopal Church (1911; 300 East Main Street). Both are a Gothic Revival style of architecture, popular for churches of that time.
The Baptist Church is a masonry building with running bond brick walls, double-hung windows with pointed arched surrounds, and a tower with decorative round windows accented by wide, rounded wood molding with four, directional keystones. The front gable is covered with shingles.
From the NRHP Nomination Form
The congregation was established in 1890 and this Baptist Church was built in 1910, not long after the first, an indication of how quickly the town was growing at that time. The original 1910 building, a handsome brick edifice of Gothic Revival styling, is now used as a hall, the
Fellowship Hall. An education wing was added in 1950 and a new sanctuary was completed in 1960. With the construction of the new sanctuary (new as in only 60 years old this year), one could then say that there have been, in actuality, three First Baptist Churches built on this block.
Now 131 years old, the building was sold by the church in 2019 as it was unwilling to continue with the exorbitant costs associated with maintaining older structures such as this. In 2019 The Missoulian ran an article concerning the church's decision to sell the building, which is reproduced in part below.
Former First Baptist Church to sell
129-year-old downtown location
One of the oldest churches in Missoula is closing a sale on its downtown building after 129 years of worship at the corner of Woody and Pine.
MATT NEUMAN | Dec 19, 2019
David Lodwig, senior pastor of River Valley Church, formerly known as the First Baptist Church, said the church was being forced to sell the property as mounting upkeep costs on the century-old building threatened its ability to keep serving the community.
“Buildings like these are difficult to upkeep because of the age,” Lodwig said Thursday. “You need a lot of operating capital. First United Methodist was in a similar situation, and they took out a $2 million mortgage, which is hanging over them. We decided we didn’t want to do that, so we put it on the market.”
The church will still meet at the downtown location for up to the next six months while it decides where it will move in Missoula, but Lodwig said the sale is scheduled to be finalized on Dec. 30. He declined to identify the buyer but said the new owner is local.
The brick church was built in 1910, after being founded in 1890 as Immanuel Baptist Church by the Rev. John Benedict. The hall where the current congregation meets today was built in 1960, adjoining the original building.
While Lodwig said he will miss the beauty of the old church and vibrance that being downtown brings, he said the move will be bittersweet. With losing the historic building comes an influx of cash that he said can go toward better carrying out the church’s mission...
From The Missoulian