Church added to National Register
Downtown Chattanooga’s Christ Church Episcopal is among five Tennessee properties that have been added to the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Tennessee Historical Commission.
“Tennessee has a tremendous inheritance of important historic places that are highlighted by the diversity of these recent National Register listings,” state Historic Preservation Officer Patrick McIntyre said Friday in a news release.
Commission officials said the church built in 1906 is an excellent example of the Gothic Revival style.
The brick church building is trimmed in stone, officials said, noting that important elements of the Gothic Revival style are seen in the pointed arch windows, buttresses flanking several sides and the church’s large rose window. Inside, dark molded wood wainscotting, door trim and stairs embellish the sanctuary, officials said.
About 1929, Ralph Adams Cram, a nationally-known architect who designed many notable Gothic Revival buildings, designed the interior remodeling of the church, according to the release. Chattanooga architect Louis Bull was the supervising architect for the remodel. The remodel included an impressive arcaded colonnade.
In 1957, a brick addition was built at the rear of the church building. The congregation continues to maintain the church, officials said.
The other properties added to the National Register of Historic Places are the Laurel Springs Primitive Baptist Church in Cocke County; the Lonesome, also known as the William G. and Dicy Austin House, in Dickson County; and the Missouri Portland Cement Terminal and the Memphis Overland Company, both in Shelby County, according to the commission.
The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. It is part of a nationwide program that coordinates and supports efforts to identify, evaluate and protect historic resources. The state’s historic preservation officer administers the program in Tennessee.