Spirit Square: A Church Without A Steeple
Charlotte NC Things to Do: Visit Spirit Square
Churchgoers marveled at the beautiful stained glass in the early 1900's when First Baptist Church was erected, and they still do. Designed by J.M. McMichael of Harrisburg, PA, the central element of the structure is the Byzantine dome, very similar to the Madison Square Presbyterian Church dome in New York City. The only thing missing seemed to be a steeple. More concerning than that however, was that because of the enormous dome, the acoustics may prove to be prohibitive to those in attendance each Sunday. Would they even be able to hear the minister's sermon?
Indeed, the acoustics did work! The sound of the music was unbelievably glorious and the sermons reverberated like music to the ear. The breathtaking dome and the stunning stained glass, especially one very special window of stained glass which was donated by Vinton Liddell in honor of his father, W.F. Liddell, coupled with the amazing accoustics were enough to silence the worries about the church with no steeple.
In 1975, the old church building was destined for destruction. A local chairwoman of the Board of County Commissioners, Liz Hair, gathered ‘troops’ to rally and was able to save the building from destruction. First Baptist Church is now the main performance hall for Spirit Square, a popular Uptown center for the arts.
Visit www.BlumenthalCenter.org and plan to see a performance in the intimacy of McGlohon Theatre at Spirit Square—hear the wonderful acoustics for yourself! You simply won't believe how amazing the acoustics are!
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Debe,
I knew Spirit Square use to be a church but did not remember which one. I love attending performances in Blumenthal also. Is Bistro 100 still there I use to make dinner reservations and then walk over to Blumenthal for evening performances with my date.
I love hearing stories of valuable citizens saving beautiful bulidings...what a nice post!
Hi Debe...How Cool is that!! They saved a Neat old Church here for the Conservatory of Music in Victoria, BC.
Thanks, Larry! Funny but, we used to do the same thing! Love that place. I've attended charity events there and it's just a gorgeous building.
Thanks, Kristin! Me too! And, I'm sure with the restructuring of our Uptown area some years ago, they were glad Ms. Hair had saved the building as well. Most Charlotteans have benefitted greatly from this building in one way or another!
Hi Fred! Thanks--It's amazing how wonderful the acoustics of the older buildings are too. As they say, they're just not built like they use to be!
Debe, there is nothing like a great Church where you can listen to great music. This reminds me when I was in Amsterdam and the Goudenkirk which was in the middle of the red light district and I went to an Organ Recital by one of the premier Organist and the Church was naturally Quadraphonic I could not believe the acoustics.