The Downtown Presbyterian Church

The Downtown Presbyterian Church stands out for its Egyptian Revival architecture, featuring lotus-leaf columns and bold, painted patterns in bright blue, red, and gold. Architect William Strickland designed this sanctuary in the mid-nineteenth century, modeling it after the temples of ancient Thebes. When the building served as a hospital for Union soldiers during the Civil War, the interior served as an operating theater. Bloodstains still mark the floorboards beneath the pews in the gallery where soldiers once rested during their recovery.