History & Architecture

First Methodist Church at 11th & Boulder is the third church building for the First Methodist congregation.
Founded in 1886, First Methodist began as a mission church of the Methodists, meeting under a brush arbor in what was then a young and wild town on the edge of the frontier. The Methodists had requested a preacher after being scolded by the only other church in town for being "too rowdy." A small white chapel was quickly constructed to meet the needs of the growing congregation.
The second building, a red brick structure known as the "red brick church," served the congregation well at the corner of 9th and Boulder until the congregation once again outgrew the building. Construction began on the present cathedral and in 1921, the congregation marched down Boulder Avenue singing hymns to their new location. They met in the basement of the building as the cathedral walls rose above them.
From the massive stone exterior to the intricate details of the church art and symbolism, we are reminded of the majesty of God and the good news of Jesus Christ. The basic shape of the church building is the historic cruciform, the shape of the cross, signifying that the church is founded upon the cross of Christ. It is built in the perpendicular Tudor Gothic style, characterized by vertical pointed arches and vaulted roofs and spires to draw the attention upward toward God.