First Presbyterian Church, Gothic Revival church in Wilmington, United States.
First Presbyterian Church is a 1928 building by architect Hobart Upjohn that combines three styles: a Norman chapel, an English Decorated Gothic sanctuary, and an Elizabethan church school wing. The sanctuary's clerestory windows by Henry Lee Willet depict the "I Am's" of Christ, and the Great West Window of 1986 shows a dove descending toward Christ.
A Presbyterian congregation existed in Wilmington by 1760 and was incorporated by the state legislature in 1785; it joined the Fayetteville Presbytery on April 4, 1817. Fire destroyed its first three buildings, raised in 1818 and 1821 on Front Street and in 1861 on the present site. The 1861 church burned on New Year's Eve 1925, and Hobart Upjohn's replacement was completed in 1928.
The sanctuary windows were made by Henry Lee Willet of Philadelphia. The large clerestory windows take the "I Am's" of Christ as their theme, from the Creation and the Prophets to Pentecost, while the aisle lancets show "Christ, The Lord of Life" with brass plaques naming each group. The Great West Window, given in 1986 in memory of Colonel Walker Taylor, sets a descending dove of the Holy Spirit above the triumphant Christ.
The sanctuary, Kenan Memorial Chapel and church school building occupy the same block; enter from the sanctuary side to find the Lectern Bible and the 1886 Woodrow Wilson letter near the southeast corner. An elevator serves the remodeled school wing, completed in 1995. The organ by Ernest M. Skinner stands in the sanctuary.
President Woodrow Wilson was a member of the congregation from 1874 to 1885 while his father served as the church pastor. This connection to a future president adds historical weight beyond the building's architectural achievement.
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