First Presbyterian Church (or Downtown Presbyterian Church)

	Front facade (the corner towers are cropped in the photo) Strickland was supervising the building of the Tennessee State Capitol when this church was built. Whereas his other works alluded to Gothic or Neoclassical sources, here the details are Egyptian-influenced--a strange choice for a Christian church! By way of contrast, see, the Egyptian Building (formerly the Medical College of Richmond) in Virginia.
		The cavetto cornice and the lotus-bud capitals are common in Egyptian works (see, for example, the Temple of Isis at Philae). The relief design of the sun disk and cobra is a common motif in Egyptian art. (See, for example, a painted relief at the Mortuary Temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu.)
Views of the nave
Views of the rear addition
		Views of the interior In spite of the dark interior, the colors of the decoratively painted columns are spectacularly radiant.

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Page created by Mary Ann Sullivan