Downtown Presbyterian Church

For over 200 years, Nashville’s Downtown Presbyterian Church, formerly First Presbyterian, has served as a place of worship as well as a witness to many people and events that have defined Nashville. The original roots of the church date back to the early 1800s, but the congregation didn’t build its first church on the site until 1816.

The original church was far different from the marvelous Egyptian Revival building that stands today. It was described as a simple colonial building with a steeple, which burned in a fire just sixteen years later in 1832. The next church on this site was also destroyed by fire in less than fifteen years. After the agonizing experience of watching two churches go up in flames, the congregation hired famed architect William Strickland in 1849 to design their new church—this time with a solid brick exterior. 

Strickland, also architect for the Tennessee State Capitol, designed the church in the Egyptian Revival style, which gained favor after Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt in the early nineteenth century. The Egyptian Revival style was unconventional, especially for a Christian church, and the style never really gained traction in the U.S. Many experts argue that Downtown Presbyterian is the most well-preserved Egyptian Revival Church in the nation, and it's been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Over the past two centuries, the church has and continues to play a major role in serving the Nashville community. The church’s bell, gifted from Nashville socialite Adelicia Acklen in 1867, served as the fire warning bell for the city for many years. The church also served as a hospital for Civil War soldiers, as well as a safe haven for victims of historic Nashville floods, and even today runs a program that provides studio space for local artists who, in turn, help with the church’s ministry to feed the homeless. Downtown Presbyterian Church still holds regular worship services each Sunday at 11 a.m. and is part of the monthly Art Crawl. To learn more about Downtown Presbyterian take our Civil War and Old Time Religion Tours.

For our next stop, cross over Fifth Avenue North and you’re there. Begin the narration at the 505 sign on the corner. Our last stop has two parts: the 505 Building and McKendree Methodist Church.