File:Grace Methodist Church, Warren, Pennsylvania - 20220802.jpg

English: Grace United Methodist Church, 501 Pennsylvania Avenue East at Prospect Street, Warren, Pennsylvania, August 2022. Generally speaking, High Neoclassical architecture such as this was common enough in American buildings of its era, but is quite unusual to witness in the form of a church. Especially striking are the monumental tetrastyle Ionic portico that dominates the front, the brick Doric pilaster strips and pedimented triple windows that flank it (the latter sporting handsome Roman latticework in their upper portions), and the flat roof with nary a steeple in sight. Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, as it was originally known, was founded in 1893 as the second church of its denomination in Warren, serving residents on the east side of the city, across Conewango Creek from downtown. Their original home was a modestly handsome frame chapel on the same site which succumbed to fire in 1920; due to post-World War I building supply shortages, it took three years for this replacement - a $200,000 structure that combined sanctuary, school and social hall under one roof - to be completed and dedicated. A 1968 merger with Bethel United Methodist Church, formerly located down the street in the building now home to Hickory Creek Brewing, bolstered the membership ranks.