Broad Street United Methodist Church was designed by Columbus architect Joseph Warren Yost, who later formed a partnership with Frank Packard, architect of Broad Street Presbyterian Church and many other notable buildings. Yost chose the Akron Plan for the interior of this building featuring an auditorium style sanctuary with a sloped floor. The design provided good sight lines and brought the congregation closer to the speaker.

The building exterior was designed in the High Victorian Gothic style, widely employed for religious architecture in the 1870’s and 1880’s. The overall vertical emphasis, use of pointed arches and other Gothic motifs, asymmetrical massing, contrasting materials, and visual complexity are typical of the style. The building is unusual in Columbus in that it is faced with Serpentine stone, which gives it a green hue. Inside, the wainscot and ceiling ae fine examples of Victorian woodworking. The large window facing Broad Street is a particularly good example of the stained glass of this period.

Building on the National Register of Historic Places

Broad Street Presbyterian Church was originally constructed in 1887, with its sanctuary completed in 1894. Designed by Columbus architect Elah Terrell in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the church features rough-cut stone, rounded arches, and an imposing tower. Architect Frank Packard oversaw a major expansion in 1907, which enlarged the sanctuary and redesigned the interior.

One of the church’s most notable features is its collection of stained-glass windows, including 28 panels originally created by Louis Comfort Tiffany Studios. Later renovations by Rogers-Krajnak Architects preserved the building’s historic character while modernizing its educational, fellowship, and community spaces.

Building on the National Register of Historic Places

First Congregational Church was designed by John Russell Pope of New York, one of the most prominent American architects of the 1920’s and 30’s. His noted designs include the Jefferson Memorial and the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.  The Columbus architect who worked with Pope was Howard Dwight Smith who designed the Ohio Stadium and Indianola Jr High School.

First Church was built in the late Gothic Revival style and has features typical of a medieval cathedral: cruciform plan, tall nave flanked by low aisles, clerestory windows, Gothic arches, stained glass with stone tracery, and a copper spire ringed by gargoyles. Built of Neshaminy stone, the church features finely crafted details throughout from its light fixtures and door pulls to its downspouts and stained glass.

Building on the National Register of Historic Places

Holy Cross Church was established as a Dominican Mission in 1833.  The current church building is the oldest church structure in Downtown Columbus.  Church plans were developed by architect Cornelius Jacobs in 1844; Joseph Sattler was the masonry foreman during the construction.  The church dedication took place in 1848. A three-story addition that holds the sacristy (room where sacred items are kept and clergy prepare for services) was designed by Columbus architect George H. Maetzel and completed in 1877.

Holy Cross is an excellent example of the early Gothic Revival style.  Constructed in brick on a heavy ashlar limestone foundation, the church features elements that are characteristic Gothic elements including pointed arch doors and windows, stone hood moulds over the tower windows, and stepped buttresses with stone caps at each of the bays. Tall stained-glass windows emphasize the vertical to create a sense of height and grandeur.

Building on the National Register of Historic Places

Completed in 1869, Trinity Episcopal Church is the second oldest structure on Capital Square, the oldest being the Ohio Statehouse which was built between 1839 and 1861. The church was designed by Gordon W. Lloyd, a Detroit architect born in England.  Like St. Joseph Cathedral, it is an example of mid-19^th century Gothic Revival, a romantic Victorian style based upon the buildings of the Middle Ages.

The cruciform plan with nave, transepts, chancel, and sanctuary are all typical of medieval English churches on which this church design is based.  Other typical features include the asymmetrical massing, stone construction, Gothic arches, wood-beamed ceiling, trefoils, quatrefoils and other common Gothic motifs. The altar of white marble is patterned after a fifth century altar in Ravenna, Italy. The hand-carved reredos (screen above the altar) features Christ and the disciples Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The ‘Church in the World’ window on the Third Street elevation features prominent Columbus landmarks including Ohio Stadium and the Leveque Tower.

Building on the National Register of Historic Places