First Baptist Church

Aspects of the First Baptist Church reflect the Beaux-Arts style in which Douglas Ellington was trained.The building’s design is characteristic Beaux-Arts features including its symmetrical arrangement, monumental, central mass and its classical references.

The entrance is emphasized by a colossal hectastyle portico leading to a vestibule with half-turn staircases with Georgia marble steps. Attached to the church is an asymmetrical grouping of dependent facilities, including a chapel, nursery, library, classroom and offices, all of which are meant to harmonize with the church structure. Altogether there are 101 rooms in the one million cubic foot structure.

The most striking aspect of the building is its imposing, multicolored dome. While domes are not uncommon in church architecture, they are more rare in Protestant churches. Ellington designed the tiles on the dome to blend, from green at the top down to the red lower sections of the dome. The effect is to simulate the patina that would form as the copper lantern set atop the dome aged. Thus, the new Church had the appearance it would take on as it aged.

First Baptist Church

Title:	First Baptist Church
Alternate Title:
Creator - Architect:	Douglas Ellington
Creator - Architectural Firm:	Miller Engineering Corporation
Building Address:	5 Oak Street
Subject - Keyword:	First Baptist Church; Douglas Ellington; Downtown Asheville
Subject - LCSH:
Description:	Aspects of the First Baptist Church reflect the Beaux-Arts style in which Douglas Ellington was trained.The building’s design is characteristic Beaux-Arts features including its symmetrical arrangement, monumental, central mass and its classical references. The entrance is emphasized by a colossal hectastyle portico leading to a vestibule with half-turn staircases with Georgia marble steps. Attached to the church is an asymmetrical grouping of dependent facilities, including a chapel, nursery, library, classroom and offices, all of which are meant to harmonize with the church structure. Altogether there are 101 rooms in the one million cubic foot structure. The most striking aspect of the building is its imposing, multicolored dome. While domes are not uncommon in church architecture, they are more rare in Protestant churches. Ellington designed the tiles on the dome to blend, from green at the top down to the red lower sections of the dome. The effect is to simulate the patina that would form as the copper lantern set atop the dome aged. Thus, the new Church had the appearance it would take on as it aged.
Publisher:
Contributor:
Date Building Constructed / Ended:	1925-1927
Date Building Destroyed:
Building Type:
Architectural Style:	Art Nouveau, Romantic Style, Italian Renaissance form
Building Current Function:	Religion/Church Related Residence
Building Historic Function:	Religion/Church Related Residence
Tenants:	Congregation
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Related:	E.M. Ball Collection
Bibliography:
Related Images:	ball1309.jpg First Baptist Church, Asheville, NC ball1310.jpg First Baptist Church, Asheville, NC ball1314.jpg First Baptist Church, Asheville, NC ball1316.jpg First Baptist Church, Asheville, NC
Coverage - Temporal:
Coverage - Spatial:	Asheville, North Carolina
DC Record Type:
Rights:	Any display, publication or public use must credit D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the authors of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Processed By:	UNCA Special Collections
Updated:	UNCA; 2011-02-23