A cluster of substantial churches marks the western border of downtown and the transition to residential areas. Notable is the First Baptist Church. Replacing an 1881 building, the present steel-framed church has a buff brick and limestone veneer articulated with Lombard Romanesque details. A colossal arch motif rising the full height of the facade contains a triple-arched entrance and a stone-framed rose window. The tall square tower is elaborated with arched openings, corner pilasters, and finials, and the top stage is octagonal. Although much simplified, the tower bears a resemblance to the twelfth-century Giralda, the bell tower of Seville Cathedral, Spain.

Hughes and Olds also designed St. Paul United Methodist Church (1953) a few blocks away at 525 Beech Street. It is similar to First Baptist with its facade arch motif, but less monumental and more Gothic in its features and details.