Erected in 1842, the Washington Street Methodist Church in the city of Petersburg was for many years the state’s leading church of its denomination. Here was held the first General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1846, an outgrowth of the schism that developed among Methodists over abolition. The church was also the scene of the first consecration of bishops of the Methodist Church South. During the Civil War the building served as a Confederate hospital. Two major alterations have given the building an extraordinary presence. A full Doric portico was applied to the original portico in antis in 1890, and in 1923 the flanking wings, each with its own Doric portico, were added. The wings were designed by Richmond architect Fred A. Bishop.  The Washington Street Methodist Church is located within the Halifax Triangle & Downtown Commercial Historic District.