Tabernacle Presbyterian Church, located at the corner of 34th Street and Central Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a modified fifteenth-century Gothic-style church erected in 1921 and completed in 1929. The plan of the church is cruciform, the transepts and galleries representing the arms of the cross and the chancel representing the head of the cross. Characterized by the pointed arch motif, hammer beam trusses, carved woodwork, stained glass windows and verticality, it stands as one of the finest examples of this style architecture in America. The exterior of the building is of Indiana limestone and encloses over 53,000 square feet of floor space.

It was no mistake that Building Committee of Tabernacle Presbyterian Church would select the Gothic style as the mode of their new church home. The early board minutes reveal that the congregation strove to build a “churchly church.” In their eyes the Gothic-style was much more spiritual and emotional than more administratively-oriented styles of architecture.

It was also no mistake or guess work when the board selected Corbusier and Daggett to be the architects for the project. Both were schooled in Paris and Corbusier had essentially devoted himself to the design of church structures. He was considered an authority on the Gothic style and was widely respected for his masterful command of tracery (the delicate stone carvings that are found in the stained glass windows of the church). Corbusier and Daggett created a masterful and “churchly” home for the congregation. It became, and still is, a symbol of spiritual life in the neighborhood and the city.

Symbolism found in the architecture of Tabernacle Presbyterian Church