Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST
FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST. A religion stressing spiritual healing, a congregation of the Christian Science denomination was started by students in Dubuque in 1892. (1)
Lacking a church, the congregation was invited into homes of other members. In 1903 a home at Ninth and Bluff STREETS was purchased, remodeled, and used as the church until 1911. In that year the house was demolished, and a church was constructed on the site. (2)
Church services were first held at the church on December 14, 1911. During the 1920s the church had more than two hundred members. The church's first Sunday school class served more than one hundred children each week. During lectures, the congregation used both levels of the church to handle the crowds. The final church service was held on November 27, 1988. The low membership, at last count only fifteen members, led to the closing of the Christian Science Reading Room and the decision to place the church building up for sale. (3)
In 1991 the building was to be purchased by Ron Kahn, a restauranteur from Galena. "Peewe McQuade's Marble City Bar was to offer two floors of dining, a bar on each floor, and an "Irish cuisine." (4) This became Pasta O'Sheas, a restaurant. The building was then used for Molly's Pub and Dempsey's Restaurant and then in 2007 Da Vinci's Ristorante and Pub. In 2012 the announcement was made that the building would become the site of the BRIDGE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
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Source:
1. Pritchard, Ken, "Landmark Church for Sale," Telegraph Herald, April 3, 1989, p. 2
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Smith, Rick. "Restaurant Slated for Former Church," Telegraph Herald, March 10, 1991, p. 3A