Houses of worship in Fourth Ward
Three historic congregations hold services inside Fourth Ward, all within a few blocks of each other. A fourth church on the walking tour, First A.R.P., is now the McColl Center. Service times below come from each church's own website; check there before you go.
First Presbyterian Church
Address: 200 W. Trade Street, Charlotte, NC 28202. 704-332-5123. firstpres-charlotte.org
Sunday worship: Traditional service at 11 AM in the Sanctuary, also livestreamed. Contemplative service at 9 AM in the Chapel; check the church site for its seasonal schedule.
Parking: Free on Sunday mornings and during church events in the lot at Trade and Poplar, entered from Poplar. Accessible parking on the sanctuary driveway, from Church Street.
For about 50 years, Charlotte had no church building. In 1815 the town set aside land for a church every denomination could use; it was dedicated in 1823 as the "Brick Church," and Concord Presbytery recognized the Presbyterians of Charlotte as a church in 1821. The present Gothic Revival building dates to 1857; its facade, tower and narthex survive, with the spire rebuilt in 1883 and 1884, and the sanctuary was extended toward Fifth Street in the 1890s. The church holds Tiffany stained-glass windows and, in the entrance hall of its fellowship building, Ben Long's 2001 fresco "The Parable of the Good Samaritan," 8 feet high and 28 feet long. Settlers' Cemetery, still city property, fills the block behind it.
See Stop 44 on the walking tour.
First United Methodist Church
Address: 501 N. Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202. 704-333-9081. charlottefirst.org
Sunday worship: 11 AM in the Sanctuary, also online.
First Methodist was formed when Tryon Street Methodist and Trinity Methodist joined in the 1920s, with $100,000 from James B. Duke toward a stone church uptown. The combined congregation held its first service on October 30, 1927, and the sanctuary was finished in March 1928. The Late Gothic Revival building was designed by Edwin Brewer Phillips in Indiana limestone. The church begins its 100th anniversary year on Sunday, October 4, 2026, at 11 AM.
See Stop 40 on the walking tour.
St. Peter's Episcopal Church
Address: 115 W. 7th Street, at Tryon, Charlotte, NC 28202. 704-332-7746. st-peters.org
Sunday worship: Holy Eucharist at 8:30 and 11 AM. Choral Evensong at 5 PM on announced Sundays. Morning Prayer on weekdays and a Tuesday Eucharist.
St. Peter's was organized in 1834 as Charlotte's first Episcopal church. The brick and brownstone building was begun in 1893 and finished in 1895, and since then the congregation has kept its doors open daily as a sanctuary. The rose window dates from the renovation of the late 1940s and early 1950s. The parish founded St. Peter's Hospital, whose 1878 building still stands at 229 N. Poplar, as well as Good Samaritan Hospital, and the soup kitchen that grew into Roof Above. The parish also founded the Charlotte Choir School in 1992.
See Stop 41 on the walking tour.
Sources: First Presbyterian Church, home page, About page and "A History of First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte," read October 3, 2026. Ben Long Fine Art, "First Presbyterian Church," read October 3, 2026. First United Methodist Church, home and History pages, read October 3, 2026. St. Peter's Episcopal Church, home and "A Brief History" pages, read October 3, 2026. Friends of Fourth Ward, Self-Walking Tour (2016).