First Church of Christ, Scientist

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, 102 West University Parkway (built 1912)

The building is designed in the classical style of a Greek temple. The church was first established in the 1890’s in Baltimore and the growing membership needed a new church building. The new church on University Parkway has a seating capacity of about 1,000. The First Church of Christ, Scientist holds regular Sunday services and a Sunday school for children aged two to twenty. The Reading Room is located in the nearby Rotunda.

First Church of Christ, Scientist, Baltimore is the outcome of a long-standing and sincere desire to share the teachings and blessings of Christian Science. As early as 1887, Christian Science was being taught and practiced in Baltimore and, since 1893, services have been held regularly, first in private homes and rental spaces. First Church of Christ, Scientist of Baltimore City was formally organized and recognized with a charter from the State of Maryland on March 13, 1894.

On November 1910, a lot on University Parkway was purchased with a view to having a permanent church home. The cornerstone was laid on October 23 1911. The basement was used for services beginning on Christmas Eve, 1911. The building was completed on October 2, 1913 and dedicated, with great rejoicing, on May 25, 1919.

It has a two-part ashlar masonry ~~ church structure with Greek Revival influenced decorative detailing on the interior and exterior. The building stands along the northerly side of West University Parkway in the second block west of North Charles Street in a residential area bordering the campus of Johns Hopkins University to the south. It consists of a large rectangular structure, which basically houses the sanctuary, with a smaller porticoed retangular block projecting from the front. The main structure is divided into five bays by flat pilasters. The portico is pedimented and supported by six fluted Ionic columns with volute capitals.