Rock Rapids United Methodist Church, formerly known as First Methodist Church, is located in Rock Rapids, Iowa, United States. The church building is significant for the use of blue-gray and red granite used in its construction.[2] It was designed by Sioux Falls, South Dakota architect Joseph Schwartz utilizing the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Completed in 1896, it is the second church building for a congregation founded in the 1870s. The blue-gray granite quarried near Sioux Falls is the main building material, and it is laid in a random ashlar pattern. The red granite was acquired from the receiver of a bankrupt packing plant which had begun, but did not complete, a new stone building. It is used for the trim, especially in the voussoirs of alternating colors. The building also features a tall corner bell tower. The pipe organ was ordered from the Hinners Organ Company of Pekin, Illinois in January 1905 at a cost of $1,960 (equivalent to $66,000 in 2023).[3][4] An addition was added to the south side of the church in 1966. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]
