Central Seventh Day Adventist Church. Located at 615 No. Sprague, the church had its first services in August, 1953. It was designed to be modernistic in feature by Silas E. Nelsen, architect, with John Wagner, who specialized in building churches, as construction supervisor. Church members supplied much of the labor required in building the church which probably kept costs lower. The church was dedicated in February, 1963, when the building was free of debt. Laurel J. Ehrhardt was pastor at the time of this April, 1968, photograph. Photograph ordered by Central Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Churches--Tacoma;

Designed by Silas A. Nelson, the modernistic Central Seventh Day Adventist Church at 615 North Sprague Avenue was built in 1952. It is triangular in shape, measuring 154 feet on the Sprague Avenue side, 142 feet on the Sixth Avenue approach and 89 feet on the side facing Grant Avenue. Much of the plywood framing work for the poured concrete walls was done by church members who donated their labor. The first service was held in the church in August of 1953, but it was not officially dedicated until February 1963, when the building was free of debt. In the background is the more traditional spanish gothic design First United Presbyterian Church at 1619 Sixth Ave, by 1958 known as Trinity United and shortened to Trinity in the 1990's.

Churches--Tacoma; Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma);

Attendance at the New Bible Prophecy Auditorium, the Central Seventh Day Adventist Church at 6th and Sprague, for the Spillman-Lyman Evangelistic Team. The best known West Coast Evangelistic team began their revival meetings September 27, 1953, sponsored by the Washington Conference of the Seventh Day Adventists. Don Hiatt Spillman was the director and speaker. Lewis Lyman was the singing evangelist and musical director. The pair, with their wives, sang as a mixed quartet. The first sermon was "Now that Stalin is dead and the Communists have the hydrogen bomb, what is the answer to the Russian Riddle?" Appearing in Tacoma after 66 weeks in Seattle, 38 in Spokane and 24 in Salem Oregon, the revival would meet every night except Monday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the new 1/4 million dollar building designed by Silas Nelsen. (TNT 9/25/1953, pg. 7)

Religious meetings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Churches--Tacoma; Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Revivals--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Seventh-day Adventist Disaster Emergency Unit. In March of 1953 Tacoma's Adventist churches spent a full day having their members demonstrate first-aid techniques and preparing emergency disaster kits filled with medicines, bandages and other supplies. Nurse Roberta Sharley is pictured above with two unidentified women as she looks over the items to be placed within the white SDA buckets. About $19 worth of first-aid items were placed in each emergency kit. (TNT 3-22-1953, A-15-article)

Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Civil defense--Tacoma--1950-1960; Sharley, Roberta; Nurses--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Seventh-day Adventist Disaster Emergency Unit. Members of the Tacoma Central and South Side Seventh-day Adventist churches met in March of 1953 for a joint project in preparing for emergency disasters. Special SDA supply kits were filled for household use in case of disaster. Members lined up assembly-style to place about $19 worth of bandages, antiseptics, splints, dressings, water purification tablets and other useful items into each white can. (TNT 3-22-1953, A-15-article)

Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Civil defense--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Seventh-day Adventist Disaster Emergency Unit. Shown filling a special SDA Disaster Kit bucket with neatly folded bandages in March of 1953 were several members of Tacoma's Seventh-day Adventist Church. They were participating in a 10-hour day full of first aid training and stocking of emergency care kits. According to Pastor DeWitt S. Osgood, it was the church's objective to have a Red Cross first-aider in every home with every church a disaster depot and every home equipped with a disaster kit. The disaster kits would help not only the homeowner but their neighbors as well. (TNT 3-22-1953, A-15-article)

Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Civil defense--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Seventh-day Adventist Disaster Emergency Unit. An unidentified speaker addresses members of the Tacoma Central and South Side Seventh-day Adventist churches in March of 1953 as they spent a long day filling and distributing emergency disaster kits and practicing first aid. The Fifties were a time of anxiety for our nation and civil defense was highly promoted. The City of Tacoma had a Civil Defense Building on Fawcett Ave. which was constructed of concrete and considered bombproof and had its own local director of civil defense. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has provided emergency relief in times of disaster for over a hundred years. (TNT 3-22-1953, A-15-article)

Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Civil defense--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Seventh-day Adventist Disaster Emergency Unit. Members of all ages from the Tacoma Central and South Side Seventh-day Adventist churches spent a day in March, 1953, involved in a hands-on project of filling and distributing emergency disaster kits and practicing first-aid. Working on an assembly-line basis, these two boys and an elderly couple are pictured placing wooden splints into the white buckets marked SDA Disaster Kit(s). Piles of neatly folded bandages are shown on a nearby table ready for insertion into the kits. The objective of the kits and training was to hopefully equip every church member's home with a kit so they could be prepared to help themselves in case of disaster and also aid their neighbors. Most of the activities of this long 10-hour day were filmed for use as training for other Seventh-day Adventist churches. (TNT 3-22-1953, A-15-article)

Seventh-day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Civil defense--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Spillman-Lyman meetings, fifth Sunday night audience. Tacoma Nov. 1, 1953. The Spillman-Lyman revival began at the New Bible Prophecy Auditorium at the Central Seventh Day Adventist's Church in September and was still going strong in November. Spillman, the "man with an answer," delivered a powerful end of the world sermon that he claimed was being fulfilled in current history. Motion pictures on the life of the Apostle Paul were also shown. The revival was advertised as "Where the meetings begin on time and are out by nine" and Tacomans were instructed to "follow the crowds to these great meetings." (TNT 10/3/1953, pg. 6 & TNT 11/7/1953- photo used in advertisement)

Revivals--Tacoma--1950-1960; Religious meetings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Churches--Tacoma; Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma);

Members of the Central Seventh Day Adventist Church began construction of their new church in the fall of 1952. They had rented the First Congragational Church at Division Avenue and J Streets since the congregation outgrew their old church on I Street. Plywood concrete forms and steel rebar are in place during construction and two workmen are sawing plywood while standing on scaffolding. Progress photograph ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association. (TNT, 9/28/1952, p.C-15)

Douglas Fir Plywood Association (Tacoma); Plywood; Reinforced concrete construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Churches--Tacoma; Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma);

Members of the Central Seventh Day Adventist Church donated much of the labor needed to build their new church. Plywood forms are in place for concrete to be poured and a steel I-beam stretches across the main floor of the modern, streamlined structure designed by Silas E. Nelsen. John Wagner, the contractor from Salem, Oregon, specialized in building churches. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association. (TNT, 9/28/1952, p.C-15)

Churches--Tacoma; Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Reinforced concrete construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silas E. Nelsen Architects (Tacoma);

Plywood concrete forms have been extended to prepare for pouring the walls of the second story of the Central Seventh Day Adventist Church. The modern design provided for a triangle shape measuring 154 feet on the Sprague Avenue side, 142 feet on the Sixth Avenue approach and 89 feet on the side facing Grant Avenue. The new church should seat 700. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association. (TNT, 9/28/1952, p.C-15)

Churches--Tacoma; Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Reinforced concrete construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silas E. Nelsen Architects (Tacoma);

Men are adding window shapes to the plywood concrete forms at the new Central Seventh Day Adventist Church in this photograph dated November 3, 1952. The estimated cost of the new church was $150,000 and it was expected to be completed in March 1953. The congregation had outgrown their building at 923 South I Street that they had used for more than 30 years and had been renting the First Congregational Church since 1943. Ordered by Douglas Fir Plywood Association. (TNT, 9/28/1952, p.C-15)

Churches--Tacoma; Central Seventh Day Adventist Church (Tacoma); Building construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Reinforced concrete construction--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silas E. Nelsen Architects (Tacoma);