The City Church purchased Eldbrooke United Methodist Church in 2007-2008. Eldbrooke Methodist Church was established in 1840 and played a vital role in the formation and history of Tenleytown. The beautiful 22,000 sq. ft. Spanish Mission/Colonial Revival building, was built in 1926 and is the fourth Methodist church building on this site. The first church, called Mount Zion Methodist, was erected in 1840 and was rebuilt after the Civil War. A larger church was built there in 1899, and the name was changed to Eldbrooke.

In September, 2008 The City Church held a rededication service for the building and were notified it had just been added to the National Register of Historic Places. We were further amazed to discover that since the beginning of land-use planning in the United States, the site the church sits on has never been used for anything other than a house of worship.

The City Church believes that 4100 River Road NW is more than a historic building or site. Our building represents over 171 years of preaching the gospel, serving the community, marriage vows being made, infants being dedicated, toddlers nurtured, children instructed, youth inspired, lives surrendered, disciples baptized, ministries commissioned, needs meet, songs sung, worship services celebrated and God being glorified! In all, over 60 pastors have preached the complete and total sufficiency of Jesus from the same wooden stage!

We love this building not for it’s terra cotta cells and mortar- although they are exceptionally beautiful. We don’t love this building simply for it’s testament to period architecture. The City Church loves this building because it’s past IS it’s future- to love, serve and reach people. At The City Church we’re inclined to believe as good as things were … the best is yet to come.

THE DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

The church was designed by Howard W. Cutler and built by C.H. Brooks in 1926. Copies of the original blue prints are present onsite and a historical timeline honoring the rich history has been commissioned by The City Church.

The church is constructed of steel and tile, with a red tile roof and textured stucco exterior. All of the exterior ornamentation is cast cement. The roof retains its original red tiles. A square bell tower is attached to the front east corner of the building. The sanctuary contains numerous stained glass windows.

The City Church has embraced the history of our new home with the understanding that we are standing on the shoulders of those who’ve gone before; and there’s much more history to be made on our watch.

For more information, see Tenleytown Historical Society

In January 2007, The City Church had been meeting on Sunday mornings for less than a year. The church was only about 65 people but we had a strong sense and firm belief that God would provide a permanent place to call our own in the city.

Through a series of miraculous events our small church family moved forward and purchased Eldbrooke Methodist Church, a beautiful historic church in Tenleytown.

The purchase was made possible by the generosity of The City Church in Seattle, Washington, led, at the time, by Dr. Wendell & Gini Smith. Other churches, including The City Church Network Churches and other congregations from around the world, including India, Mexico, Japan, Hawaii and California, gave generously. It was just the beginning of our miracle parade.

The week our offer was accepted and the contract ratified, The City Church received notice from the DC Government that our building-to-be had been added to the registry of Washington, D.C. City Landmarks!

On January 28th, 2008, we closed and took possession of our new church property at 4100 River Road NW, Washington, DC. It was all that we had prayed for and more: located next to a metro stop, American University and Embassy Row and is the highest point above sea level in DC. Literally, a city set on a hill to reach Capitol Hill!

The week we closed on the property it was added to the National Landmark Registry- a landmark for history now becoming a place to make history- again!

The 22,000 sq ft building had been neglected for some time and in serious need of repairs. We began renovating our present day Lobby in preparation to be a temporary location for our Sunday morning meetings. On March 30, 2008, we crossed over from Greenburg Theater on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Van Ness Avenue to occupy our new facility on River Road. It was later discovered from a Tenleytown History book that Eldbrooke Methodist Church (then called Mount Zion) had originally met in a house at the corner of Wisconsin & Van Ness before building their first building on River Road. We made the same exact move from Greenburg Theater (corner of Wisconsin Ave NW and Van Ness) to River Road 168 years after they made the identical move!

We immediately started work parties and projects renovating room by room. It took 18 commercial dumpsters to empty the building of debris! The rest of the year was marked with many, many work ‘parties.’ People gave up weekends and late week-nights to see God’s house put back into order.

Much has been accomplished but there’s still many tasks to be completed.

- paved parking lot and repainted lines
- exterior lighting to safeguard the parking lot and adjacent areas
- landscaping
- removed grids & drop ceilings
- restored wood work and water damaged walls
- new windows on main level, children’s classrooms, server room, lower level, fellowship hall and more
- new sign for The City Church
- repaired flagstone steps and walkway
- repaired and replaced broken sub-basement windows
- new lobby ceiling
- new recessed lighting and light fixtures
- refinished lobby/café mini stage
- refinished café floors
- new carpet in lobby/café
- new office areas
- refinished and rebuilt stage in auditorium
- replaced interior doors
- new carpet in auditorium and all office areas
- new seating in auditorium
- new electrical sub panels for main level offices and auditorium
- stage lights and intellibeam lighting systems
- state of the art sound system
- 16’ video projection wall
- interior painted
- new carpet, sound dampening ceiling, refinished stage, stage curtain, sound system and lighting in City Hall (fellowship area)
- renovated bath rooms
- new flat screen TVs for info centers and announcements
- new cabinets and computers
- new 400 amp electrical panel in lower level
- heating and cooling systems serviced and repaired

- Repair leaking skylight and roof
- Subdivide five children’s classrooms and the children’s education wing to accommodate our growing children’s ministry and host a Day Care for families in the area.
- Construct fully modern ADA compliant bathrooms for men and women on the lower level that will service the entire building with five stalls and one shower for each restroom.
- Install air conditioning in the offices, lobby, fellowship area and children’s education wing.
- Renovate our commercial sized kitchen with new floors, appliances, hoods, countertops and supplies.
- Restore original stain-glass windows in auditorium.