CHURCH OF THE SAVIOUR in CLEVELAND HTS. had its roots in a Methodist Episcopal church for the Heights, established on the Nottingham-Glenville Circuit in 1875. From early meetings held in schoolhouses and homes, it grew to be a large and quintessentially suburban church, founded in the SUBURBS rather than transplanted from the inner city. In 1878 a frame building was built, largely with the labor of members, south of the intersection of Superior Rd. and Euclid Hts. Blvd., in the area known as Fairmount. The church was called Fairmount Methodist Episcopal. A second building was constructed in 1904 at the corner of Superior and Hampshire roads. Membership had grown from 50 in 1878 to 113 in 1904, and the congregation was known as Cleveland Hts. Methodist Episcopal. By 1924 membership had reached 500, and a drive was started for a larger building. The congregation adopted the name Church of the Saviour and purchased a site on the east side of Lee Rd., between Bradford and E. Monmouth roads. The cornerstone was laid in June 1927 for the Gothic-style building, designed by JOHN W. C. CORBUSIER and completed after his death by his associate, William Foster. An asymmetrically placed square tower was added to the south transept in 1953, and 2 wings were added to the south and east in 1951 and 1953 respectively. Two churches have been merged into Church of the Saviour: Moreland Blvd. Methodist (1928) and Calvary United Methodist (1981, formerly Calvary Evangelical United Brethren). Membership peaked at around 2,000 in the early 1980s and declined to about 1,450 by 1995. It continued to offer a wide variety of programs and services for its membership and the surrounding community, including day care and a community Nursery School Co-Op.
See also RELIGION, METHODISTS.