BROADWAY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

The BROADWAY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH congregation was organized as a mission church and Sunday school in 1872 to meet the religious and social needs of Czech immigrants in the Broadway area. The original frame church (built 1873) was at Broadway and Gallup streets. The church had a nationwide reputation for its outreach to the surrounding neighborhood and newly arrived immigrants. In the 1910s, the Sunday school was educating 1,200 students each Sunday, including 7 different nationalities. Courses included the fundamentals of American citizenship. A health clinic functioned as a social service center for the community as well as for its members.

An impressive Neo-Gothic revival church was begun at 5246 Broadway on 11 Aug. 1918 and dedicated 21 Dec. 1919; W. H. Nicklas was the architect. The church has a tower, pointed-arch windows, and an exterior of cut stone. The interior features impressive stained glass windows, the work of R. Toland Wright, and an authentic, actual-size copy of "The Last Supper," one of only two in the U.S. The copy, painted by Vittorio Guandalini and Armando Vandelli of Italy, was commissioned by Mr. and Mrs. Oliver M. Stafford of the church, who unveiled it in 1924.

The church was bilingual until the late 1940s, offering services in Czech and English. Since 1986 the congregation has been known as St. Andrew Cooperative Parish, as the facilities were shared by the original Broadway United Methodist Church and the Korean American United Methodist Church.


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