Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church
Encyclopedia
Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church is an architecturally significant church located at 11th and North "A" Streets in Richmond, Indiana
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...

. Designed by the Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 architectural partnership of Sidney Badgley
Sidney Badgley
Sidney Rose Badgley was a prominent turn-of-the-century Canadian-born architect. He was active throughout the United States and Canada, with a significant body of work in Cleveland.-Biography:...

 and William H. Nicklas
William H. Nicklas
William H. Nicklas was an Ohio architect who was best known for his church designs in partnership with Sidney Badgley.Nicklas was born in New Philadelphia, Ohio and graduated from Ohio Northern University. He first began his career in education and was working as an architect by 1894 in New...

 the building was begun in 1904 and dedicated on May 13, 1906. The building committee had visited the Badgley and Nicklas-designed St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church (now St. Paul's Memorial United Methodist Church) which had been by the Clement Studebaker
Clement Studebaker
Clement Studebaker was an American wagon and carriage manufacturer. With his brother Henry, he co-founded the H & C Studebaker Company, precursor of the Studebaker Corporation, which built Pennsylvania-German Conestoga wagons and carriages during his lifetime, and automobiles after his death, in...

 family in South Bend, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...

 and the two churches have strikingly similar design elements in the sanctuaries. Reid Church was paid for by Daniel G. Reid
Daniel G. Reid
Daniel Gray Reid was an American industrialist and philanthropist known as the "Tinplate King".He was born in Richmond, Indiana, and in 1892 bought a nearby tin plate mill, with which he eventually combined every tin plate company in the country to form the American Tin Plate Company, with Reid as...

 in memory of his parents Daniel Reid and Anna Gray Reid. The church interiors and windows were designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau  and Aesthetic movements...

 and the Tiffany Studios. The original organ designed by Hook and Hastings is still in use, though it was rebuilt in 1958 by the Wicks Organ Company
Wicks Organ Company
The Wicks Organ Company is an organ manufacturer in Highland, Illinois in the United States; where they build, repair, and restore organs.-History:...

. The organ was featured with a recital during the Organ Historical Society
Organ Historical Society
The Organ Historical Society is an international organization primarily composed of pipe organ enthusiasts and those who enjoy its music, and professional restorers. The main activities of the Society include promoting an active interest in the organ and its builders, particularly those in North...

's 2007 convention in Indianapolis.

The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 as a part of the Starr Historic District
Starr Historic District
The Starr Historic District is a neighborhood of historic buildings in Richmond, Indiana. Included in the district is a former Hicksite Quaker Meeting House, now the Wayne County Historical Museum and the Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church....

.

Future viability

Early in 2007, the Richmond Art Museum
Richmond Art Museum
The Richmond Art Museum was founded in 1898 as the Art Association of Richmond, Indiana. Artist John Elwood Bundy was instrumental in the founding.- Permanent Collection :...

, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana
Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana
Indiana Landmarks is America's largest private statewide historic preservation organization. Founded as the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana by Indianapolis pharmaceutical executive Eli Lilly in 1960, the organization is a private non-governmental organization with nearly 11,000 members...

, Preserve Richmond, Inc. and the Wayne County Historical Society collaborated to host a symposium on the church's Tiffany history and to discuss the future viability of the church's dwindling congregation. A speaker from Partners for Sacred Places
Partners for Sacred Places
Partners for Sacred Places is a United States national, non-sectarian, non-profit organization whose mission is the support of older and historic sacred places by helping congregations and local communities sustain and actively use the structures.Founded in 1989, Partners has helped several...

 presented several possible alternatives but the church is still in jeopardy.

Sources

  • Tomlan, Mary Raddant and Michael A. Richmond, Indiana: Its Physical and Aesthetic Heritage to 1920, Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society
    Indiana Historical Society
    The Indiana Historical Society is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". Housed within the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, it is located at 450 West Ohio St...

    , 2003

External links

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