The First Church Christ Scientist

3812 Grand Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 50312

A beautiful former church built on prestigious Grand Avenue, sat dormant for years awaiting its destruction.

A good portion of the building has been demolished and work has begun on the new condominiums. The entire property is fenced off and construction work is under way.

The old former First Christ Scientist Church in Des Moines is a branch of the Mother Church in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1903, the First Christ Scientist Church in Des Moines was located at 927 Eighth Street. In 1932 a new church was built at the current location, 3750 Grand Avenue. The first service was held on May 1, 1932, and was formally dedicated on September 24, 1944. And the last service was held in July 2010 and services were moved to the West Des Moines location. A cornerstone was transferred to the church from the original edifice.

Architectural designers of this marvelous building were the architectural firm Proudfoot, Rawson, Brooks & Borg. The style is a modern adaption of early English church design, faced with Wisconsin lannostone and trimmed in bedford stone. Almost all of the windows are especially beautiful with stained glass. The chapel is grand with high ceilings, exposed beams and a balcony.

In December of 2008 the property was listed for 3.1 million. After four years, the property finally sold for $775,000 and was purchased by Wesley Life. The new owner did not have specific plans for the former church, but later announced to Wesley Acres Retirement Community that the building would be razed and condominiums would be built.

As of September 2017 the building is still standing. The lawn maintenance is kept up, but not much else has been done. Most of the windows have been boarded up, stained glass broken and there are Private Property and Security cameras in use signs all over. It’s sad that this gorgeous building will be torn down someday. So why did the church sell the building and relocate to West Des Moines? I am not a member of this church and haven’t been to this church so I am only speculating. Perhaps maintenance on such a huge old building was too costly. Maybe membership dwindled over the years and they did not need such a large church. No matter, this former church is still beautiful and grand.

Photos of the inside can be seen here on flickr

Photos by Abandonedexplorers.com © (taken 2017) and Flickr as noted (embedded photos)

Source information:

The Des Moines Historical Society

First Church of Christian Science

For a detailed resource of the church building check out The Des Moines Historical Society

you can check out a YouTube video walk through from the Des Moines Historical Society in January of 2015. This video gives an interesting look into the decaying interior.

UPDATE – October 2019

The Des Moines Register has an October 10, 2019 article about the sale and future of the old building. The Church and property are under contract to sell to a development company with plans to convert portions into high end condominiums. The investors want to preserve the facade, grand entrance and stained glass windows. Also there are plans to construct an eight-story condo building with 42 units. According to The Register, the company plans to preserve the rectory, Sunday school wing and the courtyard. The sanctuary is beyond saving. March 2020 is the scheduled date for demolition.

UPDATE – February 2021

The sanctuary and other parts of the church have already been demolished and the new condominiums are under construction. The elevator shafts and some portions of the new structure has already been built.

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