Overview

The Joyce Memorial Methodist Church is a rare example of a Mission Revival-style church.

• Location: 1219 31st Street West
• Neighborhood: South Uptown

Historic photo (1953)

Current photo (1983)

Architecture

• Architectural Style: Mission Revival
• Architect: Harry Downs & Harold Eads

Use

• Historic use: Religious
• Current use: Residential

Construction

• Construction date: 1907
• Contractor: Emil Johnson

Significance

• Area(s) of significance: Architecture; Master Architect
• Period of significance: 1907
• Date of local designation: 2020
• Date of National Register designation: N/A
• Designation: Exterior

Historic profile

The Joyce Memorial Methodist Church is a rare example of a Mission Revival-style church. It was built in 1907 at the southwest corner of 31st Street West and Fremont Avenue South. It is named after Reverend Isaac W. Joyce, a Minneapolis bishop of the former Lake Street Methodist Church. The congregation had outgrown their previous building and needed a larger space. They occupied this building until 2017. In 2020, the building was converted into lofts.

Architects Downs and Eads designed the church in the Mission Revival style. They specialized in commercial, civic, and religious architecture. They were also known for using Revival styles. The church has many defining features of the Mission Revival style. It has stucco cladding, clay tile hip-roof segments, and scalloped-shaped parapets along the roof. At the corners, there are stair and bell towers. The walls have arched and quatrefoil windows. On the east side, the main entrance is within an arched loggia. After a fire in 1943, the interior of the church was rebuilt and renovated.

Mission Revival-style buildings are unusual for Minnesota. This style is more common in warmer areas, such as the western and southwestern United States. The style has design elements that can provide shade and air circulation, such as a covered porch and decorative vents. There are only two Mission Revival-style churches in Minneapolis. Among the two, this building is the most intact example of a church of this style.

Photo credit

• 1953 photo: Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society
• 2019 photo: Courtesy of New History

Work cited

New History, “Designation Study: Joyce Memorial Methodist Church,” 2020.