The former First Church of Christ, Scientist, located at 614-620 15th Street, East, in the residential neighborhood of Elliott Park, in Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

,
was the first Christian Science

Christian Science

Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...

 church building in Minnesota. It was once surrounded by Victorian

Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

 homes, but most of them have been replaced by apartment buildings. Minneapolis architect S. J. Bowler designed the building in the Doric order

Doric order

The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...

. The facade of the building features a deep portico

Portico

A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...

 with two fluted columns holding up a pedimented gable.

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 1897 building was vacant in 2007 and was being advertised for sale by a local real estate broker. In 2011 it is the Physical Theatre Lab, which uses the address of 616 East 15th Street.

Later history of congregation

In 1914 First Church of Christ, Scientist, built its second edifice at 24th and Nicollet. Designed by noted Chicago architect Solon Spencer Beman

Solon Spencer Beman

Solon Spencer Beman was an American architect who was based in Chicago, best known as the architect of the planned Pullman community and adjacent Pullman Company factory complex. Several of his other largest commissions, including the Pullman Office Building, Pabst Building, and Grand Central...

, this building is now the Minneapolis First Seventh-day Adventist Church.