One of the most iconic Church buildings in El Paso sits at the corner of Montana and Lee in the Montana Historic District. Similar to some other Churches in El Paso, the building construction and design was completely accomplished in-house with limited help from others.
The building was completed and its dedication service held on April 16, 1916, followed by an entire week of services and celebrations. The Church, previously meeting in their building on the northwest corner of Ochoa & Myrtle (completed October 1888), was growing very, very rapidly and had long stretched out the seams of their old sanctuary.
The building was financed completely by donations from Church members, and Pastor Herman G. Porter even refused donations from outside sources, saying: "Each and every one of us want the pleasure of getting under the load".
The Gothic designed building was erected with rock walls on a cut rock foundation, with its most elegant feature its stained-glass windows, each dedicated to Church members who had recently passed away. The huge window facing Lee Street cost over $1,000 to create and install -- which would be a little over $25,000 today -- and was dedicated to Joseph Allen Potter, a beloved member who died during the building's construction.
The architects for this tabernacle were brothers J.C. and A.M. Worthington, who also acted as the Contractors. Both were members of First Methodist, and both donated their services. J.C. travelled extensively to the East Coast touring similar Church buildings to get ideas for the design, although in period newspapers A.M. Worthington seemed to be the brother that actually drew most of the plans. The budget of $50,000 was set by Bishop Francis J. McConnell from Denver, and at completion the Church was well within it.
Today the exterior, although structurally sound, seems to be deteriorating a bit - as buildings of that age would, we imagine. Nevertheless, as one drives westward on Montana it stands as a huge monument, welcoming people to one of the most historic stretches of road in all of El Paso.
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Text, research and modern photography provided to Skethclub.net by Mark Stone, citing period newspaper articles accessed at newspapers.com. Also citing the University of North Texas (Denton) Digital Archives at https://texashistory.unt.edu/, and the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at the University of Texas at Austin Libraries (http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/sanborn/e.html)
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| A U.S. Army Cavalry Parade on Montana Avenue, with the newly built First Methodist dominating the background on the right. Circa 1918 photograph courtesy of the El Paso Public Library's Otis Aultman Collection, via the UNT Digital Archives at https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth63186/ |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
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| Photograph taken by Mark Stone 04/05/2021 |
