Community Church designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1940 and constructed the following year, Community Church is Wright's only non-residential building in Kansas City. The congregation dates back to the late 19th century with the formation of a youth mission that grew to become a small congregation by 1890. After a fire in 1939 completely burned the church's building, the lead pastor contacted the famed architect who incorporated a variety of his design aesthetics and modern materials, including prefabricated materials and concrete. The architect worked to blend modern elements into the area's natural landscape, with building lines and other features that evolved from his "Usonian Model."

The church started as a small Sunday School for boys in 1888 before maturing into the "Springfield Avenue Christian Church," which opened in 1890 with twenty-five members. The congregation built its first permanent structure in 1894 (a wood-framed building) and subsequently renamed themselves "Southside Christian Church," supporting 127 members. As membership grew, the need for larger facilities arose. In 1909, after five years of planning and building, the members moved into a large Spanish Renaissance-style church with a main floor and balcony that supported 950 attendees. The new facility opened in 1909 and came with another name change: Linwood Boulevard Christian Church.

The designers planned for church growth, which came to fruition. As the twentieth century progressed in the first two decades, many (notably white middle-class and wealthy residents) moved away from the aging and crowded business center to the southern parts of the city, which resulted in steady attendance increases. In 1925, the church began to broadcast its services on the radio and, as part of the process, enjoyed its last name change, referring to itself as Community Church.

A devastating fire in October 1939 left the members without a worship facility, but it also started the process of creating a relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright. Six months after the fire, the head pastor purchased a vacant lot and hired Wright, who presented an idea to build a "church of the future." Although some members worried about Wright's unique plan that put function over form with non-traditional layouts, which included unique geometrical forms such as an expansive hexagonal sanctuary, they ultimately approved his proposal.

Additionally, the plan included a multi-level parking garage, reflecting the increasing presence of the automobile in American culture. Indeed, although the Great Depression initially slowed car sales, automobile purchases steadily increased during the mid- and late-1930s, leading to tens of millions of cars on American roads when Wright proposed his plan for Community Church.

The Community Church plan differs from the stereotypical Prairie School design for which Wright is most associated, which speaks to the change in his architectural style during the second half of his career. The Great Depression certainly impacted Wright, as he shifted his focus to affordable housing. In January 1938, Wright published an article in Architectural Forum outlining the idea of Usonian housing, which involved machine-like standardization and pre-fabrication while still exhibiting style and quality. To avoid the traps of standardization that can lead to stale designs, Wright relied on the Prairie School idea of working with landscapes and the natural environment, including utilizing local materials in constructing the homes (which also served as a cost-effective).  Wright also experimented with materials during the 1920s and 1930s, which are present in the Community Church design. He routinely employed steel framing and became impressed with concrete's strength and versatility (especially concrete blocks with steel reinforcing bars). For Community Church, Wright used pressure-sprayed concrete on corrugated steel. The church also enjoyed heated and cooled floors and abundant windows for light and ventilation.

Wright's choices of materials and form, notably the building's rhombus shape and other unique geometric features, all demonstrate the famous architect's mission to build the "church of the future." Almost three years after Community Church saw its worship center burn, The Wright-designed structure opened its doors for the first worship service on January 6, 1942; it remains the home of Community Church today, seating roughly 900 people. 

"Community Church." Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Accessed June 21, 2024. https://franklloydwright.org/site/community-christian-church/.

Nugen, Rachel. "Registration Form: Community Church." National Register of Historic Places. rosinpreservation.com. 2020. https://rosinpreservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/FINAL.Community-Church-NR-small.pdf.

"Our Frank Lloyd Wright Story." Community Christian Church. Accessed June 21, 2024. https://community4kc.org/visit/frank-lloyd-wright

"Usonian-Style House: What are Usonian-style homes?" Mansion Global. March 13, 2023. https://www.mansionglobal.com/library/usonian-style-house.

'Wright Studies: Usonian Automatic Homes." The Wright Library. steinerag.com. Accessed June 20, 2024. http://www.steinerag.com/flw/Artifact%20Pages/PhRtUsonAuto.htm.