Egyptian Surprise in Downtown Nashville

At first glance, The Downtown Presbyterian Church is a normal historical building in downtown Nashville. It's not until you look more closely at the outside architecture that you realize that the church may have some Egyptian inspired elements. After you enter the church and go into the sanctuary you realize that the building is a little more than just slightly inspired by Egypt! The sanctuary is completely themed to look like an Egyptian temple with detailed papyrus columns and stained glass windows designed to look like the Nile. They attempt to make the space look bigger with a perspective painting of columns on the wall and a sky painted between the beams on the ceiling. The colors are the traditional teal, red, yellow, and tan of Egyptian artwork and give the space a very exotic and exciting feeling. They even went as far as to put the symbols for the sun god over the pipe organs, which also have a papyrus detail carved into them. They also have paintings of gods over the doorways which may seem very strange since it is a Christian church. While there are no images of Christ in the temple, the sanctuary may symbolize religion as an intellectual exercise that requires a greater understanding of other cultures. The building itself is a wonderful replication and celebration of Egyptian architecture.