AN UP-TO-DATE CHURCH,

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 161, 10 July 1899, Page 7

AN UP-TO-DATE CHURCH,

The lew First Jfoptirt Temple of ColUMtraE, QMe>, U,S., which w»s dedicated r«s«Btl.y, is a iwique edifice. In Style it is a jnedifiecl form of Gothic, without oupola, flpme or steepl*. Tfeon^h it has beautifully wrou^lxt stajt>«4 fflasa Gothic windows and arches, many Horoan.esque featuwa aro iised in the minor parts, especdtlly ip the iatflrior decoration, •whditi the ammflwent of the buiidi«f i» m«Bt *trikinar, Inoteeci of watering the heuse of ttrorßliip-throufrh » small vestibule the visiier etepa through the gorgepugly ear?»4 (jiQWiJq portal into a long cor« ridor, on either side of which are ofttoiMj, Jeature rooms, nursery, parlours tad nitnilftv rooms aocessory to modWB ohurohos- The corridor is wainsoottcd in white marble and has the »ppearsji<;s $t a theatre lobby. At either side, near the end of the lobby, beautiful carved staircases lead to th» talaoay abovo. Th» »nd ©* the lobby leads djrectly into thn main auditorium exactly as the lobby of a theatra, Troiiji the wide nisle which runs around' th« ffW of the room under the circular bjlcony a good view is >ad of the commodious Ptag^e which the baptist minister is to us? for his jralpit, and where are located the great OFgrw* and the seats for the choir. The pyo«eenium ar<?h is elaborately decorated aud lacks only the drop curtain an 4 th« flies to carry out the stage effeot. On either aide of the stage-pwlpit are a series of boxes designed to be used for the deacons of the church instead of the traditional •ame» COTOWB.' The pitched floor, ■with its elrwlar seats, the circular balcony, the boxes and the etage, with their nchi ornamentation and brilliant freaocHßgi give the beholder the impression of being- in a pretty little thpatro rather than in a 'hardshell Baptist Church." A tour of the building will disclosa every modern convonienoe, including electric lights, water plumbing-, a room for bioycles, cloak rooms, library, Sunday school room, kitchen and l&vaiories, 'We want aonaething1 new in the line of ohwroh architecturfl,' wap the idea of t]i« building1 eoronslttee. It is the tmanimouß. verdict of the people who have been permitted to peep into the church during the finishing1 of its Interior that the committee have secured what they were after. The new temple is the church sensation of Central Ohio, and already has been Hubbed even by prominent Baptists the 'East Side Theatre,"