After the original church, built 1851, became structurally unsound, the congregation employed Cutting, Carleton & Cutting Architects to design its current four-story building using the multiple tenancy model. Completed in 1896, the church was designed like an office building to blend with its surroundings and to facilitate multiple uses of the building. Consequently, the church building has met the social and spiritual needs of downtown Providence for the past century through offering spaces such as a gym, reception room, and parlor over time.  

Today, Mathewson Street Church shares space and resources with 134 Collaborative, a community of nonprofits that host a wide range of human services activities within the historic church. 134 Collaborative serves over 2,000 individuals with free meals, a theater training program that creates operas on issues of social injustice and housing insecurity, legal services, addiction recovery meetings, and advocacy work.

A National Fund grant of $100,000 with matching funds of $100,000 raised by the congregation will go toward revitalizing the building so that it can be utilized fully. Currently, sections of the building are vacant or underused due to fire code issues or necessary renovations. The National Fund grant will support upgrades to fire code, safety, and air circulation systems as well as window repairs.

Mathewson Street United Methodist Church by Jan Armour Photography