Tour Booklet Final PDF - Flipbook - Page 2
History
Beginnings (1924-1925)
In the spring of 1924, First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, Florida, raised
funds for a new church in Orlando (to become Park Lake Presbyterian Church),
and an Educational Building and a Manse for First Presbyterian Church. A
prominent Orlando architect, Murry King, along with the founding pastor of
Park Lake, Dr. C.H. Ferran, contributed a conceptual design for the new church.
As funds were secured, First Presbyterian Church commissioned architect H.D.
Mendenhall to complete the design of the Sanctuary Building for the new
church on the banks of Park Lake, in what was once considered the outskirts
of town.
The building’s construction was begun and completed in 1925, and the first
service was held on October 11th of that year. Dr. C.H. Ferran became the
pastor for this new church and oversaw this process, along with the chairman
of the building committee at the time, Mr. N. P. Yowell.
The architectural design style was known as Spanish Mission Style,
characterized by streamlined building forms, curved parapet wall caps at tops
of walls, vertical punched window openings and paneled wood doors with
darker paint and stain colors which contrasted with lighter wall colors, stucco
finished walls and clay tile sloped roofs. The main entry was through an
outdoor Narthex space, elevated above the road by two sets of stairs and
facing Colonial Drive, a two-lane road at the time. The stairs were framed by a
low wall, whose design mimicked the parapet and tower elements.
The Narthex was framed by two tower forms, designated as the west tower
and the east tower. The Narthex led into the main seating area, a two-story
high space (called a Nave), which was flanked by one story side aisles. It seated
