Wall Of Beautiful Stained Glass - PGMETHCH0327
by Frank J Benz
Title
Wall Of Beautiful Stained Glass - PGMETHCH0327
Artist
Frank J Benz
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This is an interior view of the historic First United Methodist Church, located in Punta Gorda, Florida, showing the beautiful wall of stained glass windows that are located off to the left of the alter of this Gothic designed brick church. An exterior view image of the very beautiful round stained glass window surrounded by bricks that is located behind the alter can be found in the Doors, Walls and Entrances Gallery.
This historic church is one of the oldest continually used places of worship in Southwest Florida. The property for this church was purchased in 1889 for 250,00 by the Methodist congregation that was organized on July 3, 1887 in Punta Gorda. The congregation erected a wooden church but in 1910 a hurricane forced the old wooden church off of its piers. The church was righted by members of the church but they could not elevate it above ground level which is a large problem in this low-lying area of town.
In 1912 it was decided to build a new brick church and in 1912 construction began however the pace of construction was quite slow because of the scarcity of funding. Donors provided bricks to the project and there were approximately 40,000 bricks recycled from an old abandoned ice factory and fertilizer plant. In 1914 the work on the church began with vigor, a wedding was held in the still under construction church in June of 1915 even though there were no windows yet installed. The construction of the church was finally completed in 1920.
The city of Punta Gorda designated the First United Methodist Church a historical treasure in 1986 and during the period from 1987 to 1988 much of the church was refurbished and continues to be an anchor structure in the historic district
Uploaded
September 15th, 2016
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