While a church is much more than it’s building, this one holds a lot of history…
The building that houses Quapaw Quarter UMC was originally built as the third location for Winfield Methodist Church, one of the largest Methodist churches in the state during the 1940s. Designed in a popular neo-Gothic style by architects Charles Thompson and Thomas Harding, construction began in 1921 and was completed in 1925. From the depths of the boiler room with its (retired) under-street coal repository to the former fall-out shelters that are now used as storage areas, to the tip of the landmark belltower that has never housed a bell, the building is over 5 stories tall and measures approximately 55,000 square feet.
The arched triptych window on the west end of the sanctuary above the front doors of the church was designed by the Pittsburgh Glass Co. and installed in 1925. The rest of the unique stained glass windows were designed by Memphis master stained-glass artist Dorothy Sturm and installed in 1957. She developed a new technique of fusing enamel powders that produced the unusually vivid colors in the glass. The sanctuary still has its original cork floor, overlooked by four bas relief plaster angels, each perched atop a massive support column.
While the bricks and mortar of this place have a long story to tell, we know that when we leave this place, we are not leaving the church, but to be the church in the world.
We are a church for our community. On any given day, our building hosts artists in their studio spaces, 3 feeding ministries for our neighbors facing food insecurity providing 6 meals a week, a thrift store, the Actor’s Theatre of Little Rock, worship, fellowship, and so much more!