The Downtown Presbyterian Church

The best way I could describe my reaction to the interior of the Downtown Presbyterian Church is that I was completely shocked. I expected something subtle, some kind of similarity in columns, or maybe a similar floral pattern in the carpet. What I saw was a full representation of a barge going down the Nile to an Egyptian temple, with blues to represent the river and clouds on the ceiling above. Stained glass windows lined the walls, depicting palm trees and papyrus on a sandy shore, and ahead of us were massive  colorful columns with more columns painted in the "distance" behind them. 

The site of the church was very central, right in the middle of downtown. The man showing us around told me that it was the highest point in the city, which is why the North used it as a base and a hospital during the Civil War, it was a prime location. The space inside the sanctuary was enormous. Or at least it felt enormous. The painted sky on the high ceiling and the vertical columns made the room feel much bigger than it was. The stained glass windows played with the lighting in the room, giving the area a surreal kind of feeling. Every part of the room was decorated with bright colors representing the Nile, Egyptian motifs, etc. The false painted columns painted on the walls helped the room feel bigger as well. As far as materials, the dark wood was beautiful. Most of the decoration was painted, but there was the stained glass as well (which is one of the few things that made the place feel like a traditional church at all). The bright colors were striking, the blues and oranges, and they represented the Egyptian style well. The repeated columns and wood paneling created rhythm throughout the room. The most distinctive features were the columns, the motif with the sun and snakes and wings, the bright colors, the stained glass windows, and the organ in the front of the room.