Nearly a hundred years after the founding of American Methodism, In 1883, the church’s pastor, Dr. John F. Goucher, hired Stanford White, the famous Victorian architect, to build a new church as a centennial monument. The present building, Lovely Lane United Methodist Church, at 22nd and St Paul Streets was completed and dedicated in November 1887. After experiencing hard times in the 1960s and 1970s as much of its congregation moved away from the area, the congregation began restoration work in earnest in 1984 on the 200th anniversary of the founding of Methodism here in Baltimore. The work included refurbishing the extraordinary domed ceiling that depicts the morning sky with the stars and planets as they were at 3a.m., November 6th, 1887, when the church was dedicated.
Lovely Lane’s Centennial Monument building has been a tourist and pilgrimage destination for more than a hundred years. In addition to the historic sanctuary and chapel, it is home to the Lovely Lane Museum and research library.
This hour-long lunchtime tour will cover the main architectural rooms of the church, including the sanctuary, fellowship hall, chapel, and the Goucher room. The tour guides have extensive knowledge of the history of the architecture, as well as the general American Methodist History that created this building.
