University United Methodist Church

The plaque follows the congregation's moves; the building shows its taste. Preston M. Geren designed the sanctuary on Berry Street in the Spanish Eclectic style: a gabled brick body clad in stucco, a red-tiled roof, and an entry and bell tower with Spanish Renaissance and Baroque detail. Ground was broken in the summer of 1948, and an education wing followed at the rear in 1954 and 1955. Historic Fort Worth says the church took the name Matthews Memorial in thanks for help from the family of Rev. W. H. Matthews.

What the plaque says

University United Methodist Church In 1912, a small Sunday group under the guidance of Reverend Alonzo Monk, Jr. Began to meet in a rental house on Hemphill Street under the name Hemphill Heights Methodist Mission. The church grew rapidly and, in 1919, moved to George Clark Elementary School while a new building was built on Hemphill Street. The building was completed in 1923; however, in 1934, it was condemned due to foundation problems. With no building to worship in, the congregation decided to use a temporary location in a warehouse with no air or heat. In 1935, they secured the site at the present location on the corner of Berry St. and McCart Ave. And spent the next two years raising money for a new building. On January 27, 1937, the congregation held their first service in the new church as Matthews Memorial Methodist Church. The congregation changed its name to University United Methodist Church in 1975 to identify itself more closely with Texas Christian University. The church has demonstrated Christ's word through ministries such as the United Methodist Committee on relief, which helps those in need after a catastrophe strikes, youth and adult mission trips and through the support of international projects and missionaries. The congregation also provides local assistance to help those in south central Fort Worth through hands-on projects such as transportation services and partnerships with several local organizations. Today, University United Methodist Church continues its legacy as a source of outreach, hope and spiritual guidance in the community. (2012)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame — 2.7 mi
  A hall of fame begun in Hereford in 1975 to honor rodeo women, widened in 1977 to Western heritage, and housed in Fort Worth's Cultural District since 2002.
• Kimbell Art Museum — 3.0 mi
  Louis Kahn's cycloid-vaulted museum of 1972, built from Kay Kimbell's bequest and joined in 2013 by Renzo Piano's pavilion for the exhibitions the Kahn galleries could not hold.
• Tarrant County Courthouse — 3.7 mi
  A pink-granite courthouse of 1895 on the bluff where the Army set up Fort Worth in 1849, in a county named for the man who led the 1841 attack on the Native villages of Village Creek.
• Fort Worth Stockyards — 5.8 mi
  The brick-street cattle market where Armour and Swift built packing plants in 1902, now a National Register district with a Coliseum, a museum and a longhorn drive twice a day.

More markers nearby

• First Hundred Years of Texas Christian University — 0.5 mi
• Texas Log Cabins — 1.1 mi
• Travis Avenue Baptist Church — 1.2 mi
• Fort Worth Zoological Park — 1.2 mi