Missouri's Community Christian Church designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is on the National Register

Community Christian Church, Kansas City, Missouri.Photo byUser:Charvex, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Community Christian Church, or Community Church, is at 4601 Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri. The church is adjacent to the shopping district in the city known as the Country Club Plaza and is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination.

The church building is unique and important because of its architecture. It was designed by nationally known Frank Lloyd Wright. The architectural style of the building is Modern Movement: International Style. The foundation and walls are concrete.

In the spring of 1940, Wright was contacted by members of the church requesting him to design a new building that was going to replace their church building which was destroyed in a fire.

The design is based on a parallelogram. Because of the costs involved in the construction of the building, it was scaled back. It was supposed to have 1,200 seats but was scaled back to 900 seats. On January 4, 1942, the church was dedicated.

The Steeple of Light designed by local artist, Dale Eldred, was completed in 1994. Eldred died in 1993, but his partner, Roberta Lord, completed the project. This spire can be seen for miles in the city and is lit Fridays through Sundays.

There is no cost to the public to tour the church building. It was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places by Rosin Preservation LLC, and it was listed on October 9, 2020.

Community Church also houses the Steeple of Light Gallery which features rotating exhibits by local artists. This church also operates a Food Pantry open from 9:00 a.m. to noon monthly. For more information, reach out by calling (816) 561-6531.

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