1015 Edgewood Avenue

Festival Main Page • Previous Home • Next Home

Inman Park United Methodist Church
Reverend Leslee Samuelson, Minister

The Inman Park United Methodist Church is older than the Inman Park neighborhood.  In 1866, a local congregation met first in homes, then in a small brush arbor, and finally in a wood-frame church in the Edgewood community across the railroad tracks.  The cornerstone for the current building was laid on September 6, 1897 and the building was dedicated on April 17, 1898.

Twenty-three year old architect Willis Franklin Denny II (1874-1905) designed the Romanesque style church, which was built with Stone Mountain granite.  The construction price:  $12,620.  Note particularly the beautiful stained glass windows.  Asa Candler, founder of the Coca-Cola Company, purchased one of the large windows as a lasting tribute to his mother Martha Beall Candler for a mere $125.  The altar furniture, pews, chancel rail, wainscoting, beams and ceilings are all original.  Many comment on the walls that reflect the effects of 111 years and still have large patches of the original “Denny Blue” calcimine paint.  Take time to explore the archives located in the original pastor’s study at the front of the church, where the original organ also is located.

Service to the community is a strong tradition at this church. It was here that Methodist Bishop Warren Candler accepted a check for $1 million dollars and the deed to 72 acres of land in Druid Hills from his brother, Asa, to begin Emory University.  The current congregation continues that legacy with its service to Inman Park and Atlanta.