Advent Christian Church
(ca. 1920)
This Gothic styled church building was Charlotte’s first permanent home for the Adventist Christian denomination.
101 N McDowell St, Charlotte, NC 28204
The Advent Christian Church building was the first permanent home in Charlotte of the Adventist Christian denomination, one of several denominations based upon the teachings of Reverend William Miller (1782-1849), a nineteenth-century resident of Dresden, New York. Emphasizing the millennial and eschatological aspects of Christianity, Miller predicted in 1831 that the Second Coming of Christ would occur between 1843 and 1844. He attracted converts from several Christian groups, who held pre-millennium conferences and sold their property in anticipation of the end of the world and their entry into a resurrected life in heaven. Despite the inaccuracy of Miller’s forecast, the group persisted, later dividing into two major sects, the Seventh Day Adventists and the Advent Christians. The latter sect was established in 1861.
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Charlotte’s first Advent Christian congregation began in or about 1914 with six members. The group soon purchased a building on Parkwood Avenue in the Villa Heights suburb for use as a temporary church. By August 1919, construction had begun on a new granite Gothic style sanctuary at McDowell and East Trade streets. The congregation retained Charlotte native and notable local architect Louis H. Asbury (1877-1975) to design the structure. Asbury, North Carolina’s first native-born professionally trained architect to practice in his home state, studied architecture at Trinity College (now Duke University) and M.I.T. before returning to his hometown in 1908 to open his own firm. As the state’s first member of the American Institute of Architects, Asbury earned hundreds of commissions, including such notable projects as the First National Bank skyscraper, the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, Mayfair Manor (now Dunhill Hotel), and several local school buildings. He also designed many notable church buildings, including Hawthorne Lane Methodist Church, Mount Carmel Baptist Church, and Myers Park Methodist Church. The Advent Christian Church building is based upon Asbury’s prior plans for another church, the chapel at the Stonewall Jackson Training School for Boys in Concord, North Carolina.
The structure was completed and dedicated in late 1920 with Reverend J. A. Downs serving as the first pastor in the congregation’s new home. Due to the economic downturn associated with the Depression, however, the building was acquired by the First National Bank of Charlotte in 1930. The Advent Christians vacated the building in 1932. Several other religious groups subsequently occupied the building, including congregations of the Church of God (in 1933), the Central Church of Nazarene (in 1934), the First Pentecostal Church (1935-1936), and the Gospel Baptist Church (1940-1947). A young Billy Graham (1918-2018) was among the religious leaders who conducted services in the sanctuary. In 1947, the church was sold to the Redemptorist Fathers, a Roman Catholic order established by St. Alphonsus Maria di Liguori at Scala, ltaly, in 1732 to conduct mission work among the poor. Charlotte’s Roman Catholic Diocese used the building for its various religious and charitable operations until the early 1970s. Since the building’s acquisition by the City of Charlotte in 1974, the building has been used for various secular ventures, including as an art gallery and office space.