Daniels Recital Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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First United Methodist Church
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First United Methodist Church (later Daniels Recital Hall), 2006
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| Location | 801 5th Ave., Seattle, Washington |
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| Built | 1908 |
| Architect | Schack and Huntington |
| Architectural style | Beaux arts |
| NRHP reference No. | 10001105 |
| Added to NRHP | January 3, 2011 |
The Daniels Recital Hall, also known as The Sanctuary, used to be the First United Methodist Church. It's a special old church building that has been changed into a place for concerts. It was built in 1908 in Seattle, Washington. It opened as a concert hall in 2009. People love its great sound for music.
A company called Nitze-Stagen & Co. now owns the hall. They worked with the church to save the building. This ended a long, 25-year effort to protect this historic place.
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About the Building
The building was designed by architects Schack and Huntington. It's built in the Beaux-Arts style. Before this, many churches in the area looked like Gothic Revival buildings. The Beaux-Arts style was a new, simpler look for the 1900s. It shows how buildings started to change with the times.
The building is about 114 feet (35 meters) wide and 165 feet (50 meters) long. It stands 66 feet (20 meters) tall from the street. Its design is like a classical church, similar to the Saints Sergius and Bacchus church in Constantinople. The outside is made of beige brick with light cream-colored terracotta trim.
The building has four sections that stick out, called alcoves. Three of these alcoves have beautiful stained glass windows. The fourth alcove holds a large pipe organ and a stage. Above the main part of the building is a round section with more stained glass. This lets light into the inside. On top of that is a large dome, 64 feet (19.5 meters) across, covered in red terracotta tiles.
Inside the Hall
The main room is a big auditorium, three stories tall. It reaches 66 feet (20 meters) from the floor to the top of the dome. The ground floor has seats for 1,224 people. The stage area is in the west alcove. The other three alcoves lead to the entrance and stairs. These stairs go up to three upper levels, which have 600 more seats.
The building also has a basement. This area used to have classrooms, a pastor's office, a parlor, a banquet hall, a kitchen, and other small rooms. The building also has "highly artistic stained glass windows." These windows were made by the Povey Brothers Glass Company.
History of the Building
Construction on the church began in 1907. The First Methodist Episcopal Church moved into the new building in 1908. They had been in an older church nearby.
In 1950, an education wing was added to the south side of the church. This part was 2 to 4 stories tall. It was built to give the church more space for community activities and religious classes. At the same time, the front stairs on 5th Avenue were rebuilt. The new design changed how people entered the main room.
Efforts to Save the Church
In 1984, people tried to get the church listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This would help protect it. However, the church itself didn't want this at the time. They needed to sell the building to move to a new location. For many years, the church, the city, and people who wanted to save old buildings disagreed.
In 1990, a decorative part of the building called the cornice was removed. You can still see how this changed the building's look today.
In 2004, there were plans to build a skyscraper on the site. This plan would have torn down the nearly 100-year-old church. Many people who wanted to save old buildings were against this. The plan was never carried out.
Finally, in 2007, a company called Daniels Development took over the land. They made a deal that helped save the church. In 2008, the education wing that was added in 1950 was torn down.
In 2009, Mark Andersen started a free concert series in the sanctuary. Over six years, more than 57 concerts were held. Many of these concerts were filmed and shown on local TV. These concerts continued until December 2014, when the hall began preparing for more changes.
In 2012, another church, Mars Hill Church, used the building for their services. They moved out in 2014.
Preserving the Hall
For 25 years, saving the church was a big discussion. It involved the city, the church, people who wanted to save old buildings, and developers. The first try to save the church was in 1984. In 1985, the city said the church was a landmark. But in 1996, a court ruled that religious buildings didn't have to be protected as landmarks.
In 2004, plans for a new tower on the site were approved by the city. This plan would have meant tearing down the old church. People who wanted to save old buildings, and even church officials, were against it. The plan was never built. However, it made the city ask the church what they wanted to do with the land. The church needed to sell the land to move, but they didn't want the main church building to be torn down.
Discussions continued until 2007. That's when Kevin Daniels and his company, Nitze-Stagen & Co., came up with a plan. This plan was approved by everyone. The plan was to tear down the education wing from 1950. The main church building would be used for a new purpose. A new tower, called the F5 Tower, would be built where the education wing used to be.
The church building has now become a concert hall. It has hosted concerts and other events since 2009. The education wing was torn down in 2008. Construction on the F5 Tower started in October 2014 and finished in May 2017.
In Other Media
The outside of the Daniels Recital Hall appears in the video game The Last of Us Part II. In the game, it's shown in a future version of Seattle after an apocalypse. However, in the game, the building is a synagogue that players can explore.
