FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Tenth and Capitol streets (dismantled and reconstructed in 1884-85
at Grace and Madison streets), Richmond
Built 1852-53; demolished 1955
Photograph: Virginia Historical Society
Organized in 1812, the congregation of Richmond's First Presbyterian Church has met in five different buildings. The
congregation's fourth building, pictured here, may have been the most architecturally significant. Constructed in 1852-53,
it originally stood at the northwest corner of Tenth and Capitol streets, overlooking the Washington Monument in Capitol
Square. Talented John McArthur, Jr., later the architect of Philadelphia City Hall (begun 1872) and a resident of that city,
designed the building, his only known commission in Virginia. In The Presbyterian Magazine in 1853 the new structure was
described as "in the Byzantine style." Inside, galleries were carried by "octagonal iron shafts . . . surmounted with rich
Byzantine capitals." In 1882, when Richmond looked to build its Victorian city hall on the block next to where the
church stood, leaders of the congregation decided to dismantle their building and reconstruct it at Grace and Madison
streets. The congregation is currently housed in a large complex on Cary Street Road.
Next: Mapsico Episcopal Church
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