First Unitarian Church (Baltimore, Maryland)

First Unitarian Church of Baltimore
First Unitarian Church, 2011
First Unitarian Church (Baltimore, Maryland) is located in Baltimore
First Unitarian Church (Baltimore, Maryland)
First Unitarian Church (Baltimore, Maryland) is located in Maryland
First Unitarian Church (Baltimore, Maryland)
First Unitarian Church (Baltimore, Maryland) is located in the United States
First Unitarian Church (Baltimore, Maryland)
Location10 W. Franklin St, Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Maryland
Coordinates39°17′43″N 76°36′58″W / 39.29528°N 76.61611°W / 39.29528; -76.61611
Area0.4 acres (0.16 ha)
Built1817
ArchitectJ. Maximilian M. Godefroy (1765-c.1838, French émigré)
Architectural styleNeoclassical
NRHP reference No.72001495
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 11, 1972[1]
Designated NHLFebruary 20, 1972[2]
Designated BCL1971

The First Unitarian Church is a historic church and congregation at 12 West Franklin Street in Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Maryland. Dedicated in 1818, it was the first building erected for Unitarians in the United States. The church is a domed cube with a stucco exterior.[3] The church, originally called the "First Independent Church of Baltimore", is the oldest building continuously used by a Unitarian congregation. The name was changed in 1935 to "The First Unitarian Church of Baltimore (Unitarian and Univeralist)" following the merger with the former Second Universalist Church at East Lanvale Street and Guilford Avenue in midtown Baltimore. The American Unitarian Association (founded 1825) and the Universalist Church of America (established 1866) representing the two strains of Unitarian Universalism beliefs and philosophies merged as a national denomination named the Unitarian Universalist Association in May 1961.

The church building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972.[2]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "First Unitarian Church". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
  3. ^ Laura Rice. Maryland History in Prints 1743-1900. p. 84.