First Christian Church, designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen and completed in 1942, is widely considered to be the first modernist architecture church in the United States. Designated a national Historic Landmark in 2000, the structure features a tower that soars six levels above ground, and also includes a basement and a cistern in a sub-basement. Its walls are entirely constructed of brick – 29 inches thick at the base, tapering to 17 inches thick at the top. When repair works commenced, its precast concrete grilles had been replaced with plastic panels.
