Jacksonville Architecture

This church is a direct descendent of the first Baptist congregation which established itself in Jacksonville in 1838 (see D-66). Its members occupied several buildings prior to the construction of this sanctuary in 1903, with the building previous to this one having been destroyed by the 1901 Fire. Although the design of the building is attributed to H. J. Klutho, the architect admitted that "the general arrangement and outline is due to Rev. W. A. Hobson, pastor of the church, who had his ideas drawn to scale by other parties, when [Klutho] was called in to take charge, draw and re-draw such drawings as were necessary to erect the building, but to do it in such a way as not to exceed the amount of money on hand, namely $35 thousand." Interestingly, another church quite similar in appearance was being built on the corner of Monroe and Hogan Streets. This was the First Christian Church (now demolished) designed by South Carolina architects Walter & Legare and was completed several months before the First Baptist Church. The two churches faced each other across the two-block expanse of Hemming Park and the empty St. James lot. Both buildings were Romanesque in style and were influenced by the famous architect H. H. Richardson's Trinity Church in Boston. Both were constructed of rough-cut monochromatic limestone with broad Romanesque arches and with square and polygonal towers of varying heights framing the facade. The Baptist church building features an arcade on the Church Street side with foliated designs on the capitals similar to those of Trinity Church. The interior of this building was originally one of its most noteworthy features, with a hand-painted dome and murals by New York artist John O'Neill, which were removed in 1924 when the interior was renovated by Mark & Sheftall.