With western expansion limited by the Trinity River, and north and south growth hampered by rail lines, downtown Dallas spread east around the turn of the twentieth century. The classical monuments along Harwood Street reflect the shift in civic dominance to this end of the city. Founded in 1856, the Presbyterian congregation occupied three previous churches before building this classical model with two matching Corinthian pedimented porticos dominating the intersection of Wood and Harwood streets. The four two-story-tall fluted Corinthian columns of each portico are monolithic Indiana limestone. The interior is based on the Akron plan, with curved seating.
In a dialogue with the classical religious temple, the secular Scottish Rite Temple (1913, Hubbell and Greene), across the street at 500 S. Harwood, uses a monumental portico without a pediment, six Corinthian columns with a bold cornice over modillions topped by a balustrade. Dark brown brick walls contrast with stone quoins. The classical march down S. Harwood Street ends with the Masonic Temple (1941, Flint and Broad) at number 501, a lean and stripped-down version of Paul P. Cret’s classic modern mode.