Our Architecture and Organ
Central Presbyterian Church was designed by architect Warren H. Hayes, who also designed University Hall at Hamline (1883) and Westminster Church in Minneapolis (1898). Built in 1889 for $110,000, Central is an asymmetrical structure of the Richardsonian Romanesque style (as is the James J. Hill house). The façade is of coarse twenty-four inch thick Lake Superior brownstone, dominated by a massive gable ninety feet over the double-arched main entrances. The square bell tower is topped by an octagonal spire rising 150 feet. This spire was severely damaged in a 1949 windstorm and replaced in 1952, then was blown off during a Mothers Day storm in 2004 and replaced with the current one beautifully designed by member David Fisher in April of 2005.
The bust in the niche between the entrances is of the founding pastor, Rev. John G. Riheldaffer. The etched glass looking into the sanctuary depicts "coats of arms" of the twelve apostles and the cross and "alpha and omega" representing Christ.
As you stand in the back of the sanctuary, you can see the unique design of the building. Central’s architect, Warren Hayes, was a specialist in church design, and is credited with developing the diagonal form of seating, known as the "Akron plan." The key elements include a raised semi-circular chancel, which places the speaker in the center of the congregation and at the front of the chancel. The pews, themselves curved, are placed on a sloping floor, which provides theater type seating and allows each person to see and hear the speaker. This architectural design reinforces the theological emphasis on the interpretation of the Word - the reading and interpretation of the Bible throughout the worship service. The primacy of the Word resulted in a "lecture hall" type of sanctuary. In fact, for at least the first 40 years of services in this building, there was no choir. Hymns were lead by an organ and quartet. Currently, the choir has limited space between the organ console and the pipes.
Central was designed to accommodate large numbers of listeners. According to a newspaper article of 1889, the seating capacity of the church, including the balcony, was “1200 people, allowing 20 inches for each.”
The semi-circular windows are original to the building, but the west window (facing Cedar Street) was blown in during a wind-storm. It was rebuilt to the original design, using as much glass as could be salvaged. The sanctuary is eighty feet square, with gracefully curved angles rising to a molded plaster frieze. Vaulted arches rise from the top of eight massive semi-circular columns and corbels. Clustered curved wooden ribs form an eight-pointed star connected with a center circle fifty feet in diameter and fifty feet above the ceiling of the sanctuary. The central stained glass window in the ceiling is illuminated by light shafts from the roof.
Central Presbyterian Church Pipe Organ
The pipe organ in the sanctuary has forty-seven ranks, five divisions, and a four–manual console with sixty stops. There are more than 2,700 pipes, some of which are the original pipes of the 1889 Steer and Turner organ. All of the pipes are speaking pipes.
The original organ required two people to pump the bellows manually in the basement. The first major rebuilding of the organ occurred in 1932. In 1960, the organ was rebuilt again with L. Robert Wolf and Harry Iverson as the tonal designers. The organ builder was James Milne. In 1971, the present Moeller console was installed.
In addition to the fine organists of Central Presbyterian Church, many famous musicians have given concerts on this instrument. The list includes Virgil Fox, E. Power Biggs, and the blind French organist Jean Langlais.