Property Record
903 N 3RD ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | FIRST METHODIST CHURCH |
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| Reference Number: | 153644 |
| Location (Address): | 903 N 3RD ST |
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| County: | Marathon |
| City: | Wausau |
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| Year Built: | 1959 |
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| Additions: | 1966 |
| Survey Date: | 20092018 |
| Historic Use: | |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
| Structural System: | Brick |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | George Foster |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 2009: Derived from the oldest Methodist congregation, the First United Methodist Church retains historical significance. Architecturally, the church is an excellent example of post-World War II religious modernism in Wausau. The architect-designed complex is embellished with 1950s and 1960s building materials and retains excellent integrity. The First United Methodist Church is part of a congregation that is the oldest in Wausau. The Methodists of Wausau were the first of any organized denomination in the city, dating back to at least 1847. That year, a revival meeting was held by an interant minister on Clarke Island. In 1972 the congregation was renamed from the First Methodist Church of Wausau to the First United Methodist Church of Wausau. Throughout its history, the congregation has occupied several buildings in various locations in Wausau. Their present fellowship hall dates to 1959 and the sanctuary to 1966, and it was designed by architect George Foster. Foster (1910-1967) was a descendant of pioneer Wausau families and graduated from the Yale University architecture school in 1935. Prior to starting his own practice in 1950, Foster designed with Taylor and Maas, a Stevens Point architectural firm, and later, with Morris O'Connor in New York. 2018 survey report write-up: Extending across three-quarters of a city block, First Methodist Church is comprised of two units; an educational/fellowship hall unit (1959) on the west (and adjacent to N. 3rd Street), while the church proper (1966) is oriented on a north/south axis and faces McIndoe Street. Regarding the earlier unit, it is both one and two stories in height, is topped with both flat and gabled roofs and is faced with both brick and stone. With the construction of the church, a courtyard was formed and is accessible from McIndoe Street. Educational unit walls in this courtyard area feature sections of small tile that alternate with large rectangular windows. The 1966 church wing is dominated by a tall towered entrance with a small belfry and a soaring spire located on the west elevation. The south wall of the church features a single window of laminated opaline glass set within a masonry and metal framework. A narrow band of clerestory windows that alternate with small sections of tilework are found along both the east and west side walls. A porte cochere extends from the east side of the church. First Methodist Church was completed in 1966, while the educational wing and fellowship hall was built seven years prior (1959). Although regular services were held for area Methodists as early as 1853, a church and parsonage were not built until 1859. Those buildings (located at N. 2nd and Grant streets), did not last long, for both were destroyed by fire in 1868 (parsonage) and 1870 (church). A new church was built immediately and at the same location. Following a low of twenty members in 1873, membership increased such that a new house of worship was needed by 1884. After selling their 1870 edifice to the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Church (which was then moved to 711 McClellan Street), a brick, Gothic-style church was built. In 1904, that church was sold to the St. James Catholic congregation and a new church, again executed in the Gothic style, was built at N. 3rd and Franklin streets. In 1953, nine lots at N. 3rd and McIndoe streets were gifted to the church from the Alexander family. Six years later, ground was broken for an educational and fellowship hall unit that was designed by Foster & Yasko. The cornerstone was laid in May 1959 and consecration services for the new building were held on 31 January 1960. While the entire building program was estimated to cost $650,000, this portion amounted to $440,000. The congregation worshipped in Alexander Hall (in this building) for approximately the next seven years. Work began on the George Foster-designed church in October 1965 and the cornerstone was laid in March 1966. The $480,000 church was completed in December 1966. Not only did this unit include the sanctuary that could seat 500, it also provided for a choir rehearsal room, vestry, Wesley Room, two classrooms and storage. The chancel mosaic was designed by Conrad Schmidt and made in Germany. The First Methodist congregation, now known as First United Methodist Church, continues to worship in the building. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) The History of the First United Methodist Church. Wausau, Wisconsin: First United Methodist Church, 1997. (B) Aucutt, Donald Michael, Mary Jane Uecker Hettinga, and Kathleen Jansen. Wausau Beautiful: A Guide to Our Historic Architecture. Wausau, Wisconsin: Friends of Wausau Historic Landmarks, 2007. Citations for 2018 survey report information below: “First Methodist to Break Ground for New Church Unit,” Wausau Daily Record-Herald, 27 September 1958, 3/1-3; “First Methodist Church Consecrates New Building,” Wausau Daily Record-Herald, 2 February 1960, 2/8-9; “First Methodists See Plans for New Church,” Wausau Daily Record-Herald, 30 October 1964, 17/5-6, includes rendering; “Cornerstone Laying Set at First Methodist Church,” Wausau Daily Record-Herald, 10 March 1966, 2/6-7; “Steeple Rises on the First Methodist Church,” Wausau Daily Record-Herald, 10 June 1966, 4/4-5; “New Church for First Methodist,” Wausau Daily Record-Herald, 21 December 1966, 19/1-5; Malaguti and Norton, “Final Report: Intensive Historic Survey,” 177-178. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |