About

Calvary Baptist Church
Fowler Methodist Episcopal Church
Wesley Methodist Church

Warren H. Hayes was indisputably the citys leading ecclesiastical architect in the latter half of the 19 ^th century. He was born, educated, and practiced architecture in New York until 1881 when he moved to open his own office in Minneapolis. At least nine Minneapolis churches are credited to Hayes, including First Methodist Episcopal (1881), Central Baptist (1883), Immanuel Baptist (1883), and the Fowler Methodist Church (1894) (now the Scottish Rite Temple). As an early proponent of Richardsonian Romanesque design techniques, with heavy rusticated stone and rounded arches, Hayes’ designs conveyed a symbol of permanence in a rapidly expanding city. Hayes is also attributed with the development of the "diagonal plan" for church auditoriums as well as the Akron Plan which allowed a flexible layout where the Sunday school classrooms could be easily connected to the auditorium. Hayes died in 1899 while still working on several projects, most notably Calvary Baptist Church. After his death, Harry Wild Jones took over many of Hayes’ commissions.