Five historic churches and a seminary will be featured in Indiana Landmarks’ 2023 Holiday Church Tour, a Dec. 2nd self-guided exploration that highlights the architecture, history and preservation of sacred spaces in and around Indianapolis’s Meridian-Kessler neighborhood. All but one of the spaces will be available for interior exploration, and some will be decorated for the holidays.

The self-directed tour allows participants to go at their own pace, with select interiors open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors should allow at least 2 hours to enjoy the full experience.

Tourgoers are responsible for their own transportation between stops. Parking is available at all sites but may be limited. Street parking is available on most surrounding streets. Steps are required to access some sites on the tour. (For more information, contact tourism@indianalandmarks.org.)

Indiana Landmarks presents this tour in partnership with area congregations, and a portion of the proceeds benefit Indiana Landmarks’ Sacred Places Indiana program.

Tour stops include the following:

•  North United Methodist Church, 3308 N., Meridian St. Built in 1931 with a series of additions over the decades, North United Methodist Church was the product of the 1921 merger of a new congregation with the existing Mapleton Methodist Episcopal Church. An English Gothic structure of Briar Hill variegated sandstone with Bedford limestone trim, the church interior designed by Schanbacher of Springfield, Ill., featured 12 art glass windows representing the apostles, and a chancel and chancel rail of amber travertine marble. In 1951, North United Methodist dedicated a new educational wing and, in 1973, added a tower, complete with electric carillon, which had been part of the original building plans. A 12,000-square foot expansion in 1997 added a chapel, the church’s west entrance and additional community outreach rooms.
• St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 4217 N. Central Ave. Created to accommodate a new parish in a rapidly developing neighborhood, the original Saint Joan of Arc was designed in 1921 by architect John Hagel in a Spanish Mission style to complement the neighboring D.A. Bohlen and Son-designed parish school. In 1929, the church added a limestone church designed by architect Henry J. Schlacks to resemble a Roman Basilica with an Italian campanile. Schlacks also designed the 65-ton marble high altar inside, and F.X. Zettler of Munich designed the 18 stained glass windows. A new building with a gym, school offices and kitchen replaced the original Hagel-designed church in 2001. In recent years, the parish restored the 1929 building as well as the clerestory windows, wall and ceil¬ing artwork and more.
• First Meridian Heights Presbyterian Church, 4701 Central Ave. Opened in 1928 to serve Meridian Heights Presbyterian Church, this Gothic-style, limestone church included seating for up to 820 people, along with stained opalescent glass windows representing the 12 apostles of Christ. A large community room and classrooms below further served the growing congregation, which added an education wing in 1958, replacing an original frame building and including a chapel, parlor, apartment for the church custodian and numerous educational rooms. In the mid-twentieth century, as traditional congregations moved into the suburbs, First Presbyterian Church – which had been located downtown since 1823 – merged with Meridian Heights to form what is now First Meridian Heights Presbyterian Church.
• Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 526 E. 52nd St. First meeting in a storehouse at 52nd Street and College Avenue in 1923, the Bethlehem Lutheran Congregation soon built – and then outgrew – a small structure on the corner of 52nd and Central Avenue, replacing it in 1931 with its current home, designed in Indiana limestone in the English Gothic style. Driven by a belief that physical environment influences the worship experience, congregants transformed the church’s interior into a work of art. In 1957, the congregation dedicated a compatible limestone addition with children’s classrooms, fellowship hall and offices. In 1962, the congregation added a sanctuary balcony for a choir and a new organ, designed by Robert Noehren in the classic Baroque style of northern Germany and the only organ of its kind in central Indiana.
• Northwood Christian Church, 4550 Central Ave. (Exterior exploration only.) Northwood Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) formed in 1920 to serve the city’s growing north side, occupying a white frame building on the southeast corner of 46th Street and Central Avenue. After World War II, the fast-growing congregation moved to a new building across the street, marking the move by lining up in class order, led by the nursery group, and marching across the street. While the new auditorium seated 450 and featured a rose picture window and Chicago adobe brick, plans for expansion began almost immediately. An educational wing was added in 1954, connected by a 30-foot cloister walk and garden to a new chapel with seating for 70 people.
• Christian Theological Seminary, 1000 W. 42nd St. Founded in 1925 as the College of Religion at Butler University, Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) separated from the university in the late 1950s, and, in the early 1960s, commissioned a master plan for its own grounds and buildings on 35 acres nearby. Led by modern architecture patron J. Irwin Miller, the effort brought landscape design by Dan Kiley and building design by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, who created the building’s exterior to blend into its wooded surroundings on a bluff overlooking the White River and its interior to emphasize space, volume and light. Subsequently, Barnes designed a library (1977) and Sweeney Chapel (1987). In 2017, CTS sold the buildings and most of the grounds to Butler, with a long-term lease in place. 

WHAT: 2023 Holiday Church Tour

WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WHERE: North United Methodist Church, 3308 N., Meridian St.
St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 4217 N. Central Ave.
First Meridian Heights Presbyterian Church, 4701 Central Ave.
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 526 E. 52nd St.
Northwood Christian Church, 4550 Central Ave.
Christian Theological Seminary, 1000 W. 42nd St.

COST: Advance tour tickets cost $20/adult (age 12 & up), $15/member of Indiana Landmarks, $10/child (ages 6-11), and are free for kids ages 5 and under.

Day-of-tour tickets cost an additional $5 per ticket price and may be purchased at North United Methodist Church, 3808 N Meridian St., Indianapolis beginning at 10 a.m. on December 2.

TICKETS: Buy tickets at indyholidaychurchtour23.eventbrite.com or by calling 317-639-4534.

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Indiana Landmarks revitalizes communities, reconnects us to our heritage, and saves meaningful places. With nine offices located throughout the state, Indiana Landmarks helps people rescue endangered landmarks and restore historic neighborhoods and downtowns. People who join Indiana Landmarks receive its bimonthly magazine, Indiana Preservation. For more information on the not-for-profit organization, call 317-639-4534, 800-450-4534, or visit www.indianalandmarks.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Mindi Woolman, Director of Marketing and Communications, Indiana Landmarks, 317-639-4534,  mwoolman@indianalandmarks.org