Downtown Raleigh, N.C. Part VI: Churches

 I'm sure there are more than just a handful of churches in Downtown Raleigh, just as there are in most large urban communities. The churches that I photographed on my March 5 walk-around and are presented in this post represent just a portion of all those.

One interesting oddity I came across is that there are two First Baptist Churches, one at 101 S. Wilmington Street, the other at 99 N. Salisbury Street, and both claim to have started in the same year -- 1812. I read through both of those churches' histories, and I could not find anything indicating that they both were part of the same organization at any time in their histories. 

Also covered in this post are the following: two Episcopal churches, Christ Church and Good Shepherd, First Presbyterian, Edenton Street United Methodist and Sacred Heart, which at one time was the premier congregation for the Catholic Archdiocese of Raleigh. Today, that distinction belongs to Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, which opened in 2017 on property west of downtown not far from Pullen and Dorothea Dix parks. There will be a separate post on Holy Name at the conclusion of this series. 

A photo of the Sacred Heart complex leads off today's post, and other shots of Sacred Heart and its school are featured in the first seven images below. 

SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH AND SCHOOL

FIRST BAPTIST,
101 N. Salisbury St.

FIRST BAPTIST,
99 S. Wilmington St.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN

CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD EPISCOPAL

CHRIST CHURCH EPISCOPAL

Next Up: Everything else Downtown 

Previously in the series: 

Part I: The North Carolina State Capitol at Union Square
Part II: Nash Square Park

Part III: Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts

Part IV: Campbell University School of Law

Part V: Circular Holiday Inn