From the exterior one might easily mistake First Calvary Baptist Church for a town hall or lyceum; only the bell tower at the northwest corner provides a reassuring ecclesiastical touch. The Georgian Revival exterior is constructed of brick with nearly identical, doublestacked Corinthian porticoes, executed in terra-cotta, on the north and west facades. Perched above the second of two full entablatures, a terra-cotta balustrade with decorative finials conceals the roof, a motif reminiscent of the work of James Gibbs (1682–1754). When it was completed in 1916, the church signaled architecturally the maturation of a relatively
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First Calvary Baptist Church
1915–1916, Mitchell and Wilcox. 1968–1969, educational annex, McGaughy, Marshall, and McMillan. 1979, interior renovation. 1036–1040 Wide St.
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