Downtown Presbyterian Church

The Downtown Presbyterian Church was a good example of converging cultures in architecture, something discussed in my visual communications class. The Church is designed after ancient Egypt artistic conventions, which were revisited during an Egyptian revival period. This Church mixes strong Egyptian influences with Christian ideas. Crosses are shaped in a way to fit with the Egyptian style. The logo printed on the bibles also has an ancient hieroglyphic-like feeling. However, the pillars with papyrus depictions and the geometric patterns used throughout the Church are very Egypt specific, with no Christian influence. Egyptomania spread throughout much of the art world at this time, but many still thought the use of these aesthetics in a Christian world was offensive because of their cultural implications (design elements can become attached to a entire people and their way of living)

Personally, I would never have guessed the two styles would have been mixed so deliberately. I would like to understand more of the images in the Church such as the large "God" hieroglyphic. I'm sure there is someone who could have explained the image to me, and I would still like to know how it is interpreted in that christian church.  The rest of the Egyptian elements, pillars and patterns were quite aesthetically pleasing.  The pillars were painted with vibrant colors and rose to the ceiling, dwarfing those standing nearby.  They created a rhythm that continued around the room with impressions of pillars on the walls.  The symmetry created with two groupings of three pillars towards the front guides your eyes towards a central point (the organ during worship or the speaker during a message). The ceiling was also intensely decorated with ornate crown molding like pieces that may have actually been more in style of European churches.  Ornate decoration was popular earlier in Europe and during the time of this church's construction. One of the characteristics I really liked was the openness of the Church. This along with sky blue ceilings really created an amazing lofty effect, which I'm sure was intentional and adds to the spiritual space.  Also, pillars were painted behind the actual pillars which added depth to this part of the church.  The area seemed to have normal lighting, but did have stained glass windows (commonly found in churches) with an Egyptian spin which cast a jewel-like glow.  The positioning of the church right inside a city (next to modern skyscrapers) just made me think that it would be "old" maybe even dark and dull, but I was very surprised with how bright and interesting the church ended up being. My group and I briefly discussed some of these elements. We agreed that the Church was unlike most churches we had seen before and that the experience was very worth while.