Westminster Presbyterian Church Then and Now
1912 and 2011
In 1857 a small gathering of eight people raised $2,000 and built the first Westminster Presbyterian Church on Fourth Street in Minneapolis. The Westminster congregation grew rapidly and in 1883 a new larger church was built on Seventh Street and Nicollet Avenue. Some twelve years later the building was heavily damaged by fire, forcing the congregation to move. In 1896 ground was broken on the new site at the corner of Twelfth Street and Nicollet Avenue and the congregation began meeting for services at the present church in 1897.
The architectural design, including the floor plan of the sanctuary, was modeled after the earlier church on Seventh Street. The chapel, parlor, great hall, cloister hall, and new offices were added in 1937. The education wing was built in the 1950s. A remodeling project in 1985 updated and refurbished many areas of the church and included the addition of the current upstairs office space. In 1998 a major renovation of the sanctuary was undertaken.This $3.5 million project focused on a restoration of elements found in the original sanctuary design. In 1999 Westminster was entered on the National Register of Historic Places.
