History (Re) Photographed:
by Concordia College students in History 112HU, Fall 2016

A Church Untouched by Time



            
            Over last one hundred years downtown Saint Paul has changed drastically around Central Presbyterian Church. Buildings have gone up around the church and the church has seemed to stand its ground. Downtown Saint Paul adjoins with Minneapolis and together they are the Twin Cities. Some of the surrounding suburbs that are included in the Twin Cities include Roseville, Maplewood, Cottage Grove, South Saint Paul, and Eagan. Saint Paul is one of the most populous cities in Minnesota. As we can see the Twin Cities area has grown quite a lot over the past decade. An analysis of the rephotograph of Central Presbyterian Church illustrates that churches in large cities survived by adapting to the changes around them.

            As we can see in the juxtaposed pictures, there is not a large difference between the two, other than the fact that the steeple at the front of the church became smaller and the tower at the back of the church is no longer there. There is not much that has changed about the church but there has been a lot that has changed around the church over the past century. In the image from 1905, there is a small building beside the church. The purpose of this building is unknown, but the property that it used to stand on now serves as the building for Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), which is much larger than the building that occupied the space earlier. Along with the many structures that surround this historic church, there is now a light rail that runs directly in front of Central. According to a 2005 scholarly article about metropolitan churches, “in general, the churches most exposed to heaviest pedestrian traffic responded the most to them.”[1] Dubrow says that with more pedestrian traffic, it is more likely for people to come into the church but it seems as though the opposite has happened to Central. Central has had to adapt to the growing amount of pedestrians, and traffic around the church especially now with the new light rail train located directly in front of the church. In 1905, there was a big walkway that led to the church which has obviously changed today to sidewalks and streets. This has made the church feel as though it is tucked away in the big city. With all of the changes to the surrounding city, the church has stood strong. The congregation may be much smaller than what it was in its earlier years, but it manages to stay running.

            Saint Paul was established on the grounds of being a market place for trade.[2] Because of the easy accessibility to the Mississippi, fur traders frequented the city and after the development of the railroad, the Twin Cities became the gateway to the Pacific Northwest, which in turn provided great opportunity for growth and by 1852, Central Presbyterian Church was born. The congregation did not have a constant meeting place, however, until 1854, when Central was built. At the beginning of the 1880s, the Saint Paul union stockyard was created and the livestock market became one of the largest in the world.[3] “Meatpacking plants also flourished in the city. In the 1920s and 1930s downtown Saint Paul became a safe haven for gangsters.”[4] Around this time period Central Presbyterian church started to flourish and by the 1950s, the congregation at Central was at an all-time high of 1,500 people. The congregation was so large that the church had to build two doors in the sanctuary that opened up to more seating in the welcome room. During this time, many people living in the Twin Cities started to move to the suburbs therefore causing a decline in church populations and the population of the city as a whole. By the middle of the century. Economic difficulties and migration to suburbs contributed to a decline in the central city.[5] Due to this change, the attendance and congregational membership of the church drastically fell. While the population in Central Presbyterian church was going down, so were the populations of other churches across the cities. By the 1980s the congregation size of Central Presbyterian Church was very low, so the church had to take action.

            Churches in cities manage to keep running due to their abilities to adapt to the changes around it. As previously cited above in Dubrow’s scholarly article written in 2005 about Metropolitan Churches, “most of the downtown churches survived by becoming niche churches;  appealing to the special religious concerns of parishioners who live throughout the metropolis, and by responding to the employees, clients of stores and businesses, and transients during the week.”[6] To keep the church alive in their time of decline during the 1980s, Central resorted to using endowments, which is a large amount of money that has been given to a school, hospital, etc., and that is used to pay for its creation and continuing support. These endowments were supplemented by members of the congregation that had passed away or by friends of Central that may not have been members at the time. These endowments were used as investments to help keep the church running despite all opposing sources. Little by little the church used all of the endowments and gifts that members and past members had given to the church. Central then began to sell off property in attempt to keep the church from shutting down. In the early 2000s, the church partnered with the neighboring Minnesota Public Radio building to sell the parking ramp that the church possessed. By selling the parking ramp, the church was able to keep running longer until a more permanent solution was found.

            In the mid 2000s Central Presbyterian church finally announced that they were “In the City for Good.” The members of the congregation risked their money to find a permanent minister that would bring the church back to its former glory, and so, the congregation elected Reverend David Colby. By doing so, the church has slowly started to grow again. As stated in the 2016 article written by the Encyclopedia Britannica about Saint Paul, around 1990 the city’s population was again increasing.[7] With the growing city, younger couples started to join the congregation which has helped sustain the church. Central has tried to incorporate new activities like the “Blessing of the Animal’s” service, where you are able to bring your pet to church and Reverend Colby blesses them. Central has also started retreats for families and for teenagers, drawing in more interest for the younger generations. 

            Central Presbyterian Church peaked in the 1950s with an all-time high of 1,500 congregation members. By the middle of the century, the churched suffered a great loss of congregational members with people migrating to the suburbs. To rebuild the church, which was suffering from the loss of people, the church tapped into the endowments that were given by members that had passed away and by friends of the church. This helped sustain the church until it found a permanent solution of electing a younger minister to the board that eventually resurrected the dying congregation.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ane Sofi Varanasi
December 7, 2016
 
            [1] William Form, Joshua Dubrow, "Downtown Metropolitan Churches: Ecological Solutions and Response," (Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 3, no. 44 July 05, 2005): 287.
            [2] "Saint Paul" Encyclopedia Britannica Online, May 05, 2016 n.d. Web. Accessed November 30, 2016. https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Paul-Minnesota
            [3] Ibid.
            [4] Ibid.
            [5] Ibid.
            [6] William Form, Joshua Dubrow. 287.
            [7] "Saint Paul." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Photo credits:
Historical:  Central Presbyterian Church, 500 Cedar, St. Paul, Minnesota Historical Society Collection Online, MR2.9 SP5.1 p76accessed December 9, 2016, http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10712402&return=q%3Dcentral%2520presbyterian%2520church%2520st.%2520paul

Rephotograph: Photo by author






Bibliography
"Saint Paul." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. May 05, 2016 n.d. Web. Accessed November 30,
            2016. https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Paul-Minnesota
William Form, Joshua Dubrow. "Downtown Metropolitan Churches: Ecological Solutions and
            Response." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 3, no. 44 (July 05, 2005): 271-290.