Downtown Historic Church Tour

Metro Jacksonville · December 11, 2007, 05:30:00 AM

Downtown Historic Church Tour

A century of downtown sanctuaries in one afternoon.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/665

NJ to JAX WHAT DID I DO? · December 11, 2007, 08:30:47 AM

Immaculate Conception is one of the most beautiful catholic churches I have been to....and certainly the best in Jacksonville. It reminds me of some of the great, old catholic churches that are typically found in the northeast.

02roadking · December 11, 2007, 10:20:18 AM

Nice pics gang. Had all intentions of taking the tour, camera in tow, but got side-tracked Sat. afternoon.
There is also a lot small churches scattered through Springfield that seem to be interesting.

Steve · December 11, 2007, 10:43:05 AM

Quote from: NJ to JAX WHAT DID I DO? on December 11, 2007, 08:30:47 AM
Immaculate Conception is one of the most beautiful catholic churches I have been to....and certainly the best in Jacksonville. It reminds me of some of the great, old catholic churches that are typically found in the northeast.

There is a reason I am getting married there

alohameisha · December 11, 2007, 01:20:28 PM

Beautiful! I went home to charge my camera battery half way through. I did the festival of trees that day at the library too. It was a great turn out for a Saturday downtown. This is the first year they have done the church tours and I hope they will continue considering the great turnout.

Matt · December 11, 2007, 03:54:02 PM

synder memorial is so nice, and its right in the heart of downtown. i pray that this one doesn't get wasted like the other church. hell, i'll conduct a sermon there if i have to.

RiversideGator · December 11, 2007, 06:11:24 PM

This is one of the neatest proposals I have seen. We used to have a thread somewhere on proposed Jacksonville skyscrapers which were never built. I am especially interested in those from pre-1930. Perhaps this should be resurrected...

fsujax · December 12, 2007, 08:11:26 AM

FBC will soon be restoring the historic Hobson Auditorium as part of a multi-million dollar renovation of the entire church complex.

Charleston native · December 12, 2007, 12:09:33 PM

I thought the sanctuary for FBC was bigger than that. The pictures reminded me of some of the other downtown churches in Chas and Columbia that haven't expanded due to the lack of land. I wish there were some exterior shots of the church.

The pics of the Immaculate Conception are very beautiful. Good grief, that church can compete with even larger Catholic churches...even the National Cathedral in DC!

thelakelander · December 12, 2007, 12:11:26 PM

That's FBC's historic sancturary. They have a larger one a few blocks away.

Charleston native · December 12, 2007, 12:27:49 PM

Aha! I was thinking the same thing, but it's been so long since I've been there, I forgot. Thanks!

thelakelander · December 12, 2007, 01:30:22 PM

Quote from: RiversideGator on December 11, 2007, 06:11:24 PM
We used to have a thread somewhere on proposed Jacksonville skyscrapers which were never built. I am especially interested in those from pre-1930. Perhaps this should be resurrected...

I have a few scans of some proposals never built. I'll get them uploaded before I head north for Christmas.

brassduval · December 28, 2007, 08:30:11 AM

"Bethel's beginnings came in 1868, when the local Baptist congregation split along racial lines. The white congregation later became First Baptist Church. Bethel's current building was constructed in 1904 and is dominated by a unique large bell tower. Metro Jacksonville assumes Bethel wasn't a part of the tour because it sits in No-Man's land along with FCCJ, between Downtown and Springfield."

This information is not accurate or just to the great legacy of Bethel Baptist Institutional Church. The church was organized in 1838! Therefore it's beginnings began at that time. Bethel is documented as the FIRST baptist church in Jacksonville and the OLDEST Baptist church in the state of Florida. The congregation did split but the original confusion started when the Federal Army took physical possession of the church and it was used as a military hospital during the civil war. The historic sanctuary has been on the national registry of historic places since 1978. The construction began in 1901 and was completed in 1904. The church is rooted in history as: Florida Memorial College was founded in Bethel as Florida Baptist Academy before moving to St. Augustine. (here is where you can find a more detailed writing of the church http://www.bethelite.org/about.html)

Heres are pictures inside of the historic sanctuary. (imported marble is used inside several places of this historic structure )

These are post cards that picture the church from 1900-1908 and in 1911

This is the present day building

brassduval · December 28, 2007, 08:43:54 AM

Bethel is also not located on Hogan street. The church purchased the entire block of property that the historic sanctuary sits on! Those streets were renamed Bethel Baptist Street and Rev. Dr. Rudolph McKissick Sr. Blvd. (after the churchs oldest serving pastorate and current pastor 42 years! )

thelakelander · December 28, 2007, 09:27:12 AM

Thanks for the correction. Bethel does have a storied history that the entire community should be proud of. Personally, I'd like to see the Downtown and Springfield communities attempt to work with Bethel and FCCJ in improving the landscape in that immediate area and becoming better neighbors. There's so much potential in that area and Bethel could be the main focal point that the community should build around to reconnect Downtown and Springfield as one vibrant walkable neighborhood.