What Sunday Looked Like a Century Ago

Fort Worth has lost more grand church buildings than you can shake a backslider at. Here are eight churches of the early twentieth century and aerial photos showing where the churches were located downtown and on the South Side. (Photos from the 1907 promotional booklet Greater Fort Worth.)

Downtown:

First Methodist Episcopal (South) Church was in the southeast corner of 7th and Taylor streets. That lot is now the Oil and Gas Building.

First Baptist Church was in the southeast corner of West 3rd and Taylor streets. In 1909 this became the church of J. Frank Norris. That lot is now a parking garage.

Taylor Street Cumberland Presbyterian Church (later First Presbyterian Church) was in the northeast corner of Taylor and West 5th streets. That lot is now the Tower.

First Christian Church was in the northwest corner of West 6th and Throckmorton streets. In 1914 the congregation replaced that building with this one:

South Side:

College Avenue Baptist Church was in the northeast corner of College Avenue and West Leuda Street next to Fort Worth University. That lot is now Community Care Center next to Trimble Tech High School.

First Congregational Church was in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania and College avenues. That lot is now Tarrant Dialysis Center.

Mulkey Memorial Methodist Episcopal (South) Church was in the southeast corner of St. Louis and Cannon streets. The church was funded by George H. Mulkey, banker, city fire and police commissioner, city alderman, volunteer fire chief. He named the church for his parents,  Reverend William and Annis Mulkey. William Mulkey was an early Methodist circuit rider and missionary to local Native Americans. That lot is now Wellington Oaks nursing home.

Broadway Presbyterian Church was in the northwest corner of Broadway and St. Louis avenues. That lot is now a parking lot. The building was destroyed in the South Side fire of 1909:

broadway presby new after fire maybeBroadway Presbyterian Church would rebuild. (Postcards courtesy of Barbara Logan.)

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