First Methodist Church (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)


The First Methodist Church in Oshkosh, Wisconsin is a historic church at 502 N. Main Street. It was built as the Wagner Opera House. The main structure was built in Italianate style 1874-75 but it was renovated extensively to its current Neoclassical appearance in 1924–25. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
It is a brick building. It is unusual in Wisconsin as an urban church building with storefronts at street-level. The building was begun as an opera house, until damaged by a fire in 1874. At that point the Methodist congregation bought it and completed it as a Neo-Classical-styled church. After they moved to a new building in 1970, it was used by Boys' Club and as a homeless shelter.