Now home to the 3rd Street Dance & Theatre Academy, this building served as a place of worship for the Free Methodists for over 100 years. This structure is thought to be the second oldest Free Methodist Church in the world. Inside, a mural, painted by local black artist William Luckett in 1943, graced the area behind the altar.

While the local branch of this denomination was formed in 1859, the Free Methodist Church had been chartered in 1856 by New York Methodists who were opposed to the Southern Methodist's acceptance of slavery. The Free Methodists believed in "free seats and human freedom for all." From the beginning of the church, members banned the practice of renting pews--a practice which enabled the rich to get prominent seats and relegated the poor to the back of the church. The Free Methodists also had an integrated congregation, and many members joined the abolitionist movement.
Over the years, church membership levels fluctuated. The congregation met in a converted warehouse until 1882, when St. Charles’ Free Methodist Church was built. Eventually, the building became inadequate for the congregation’s purposes. When the Congregational Church began construction of a new building, the Free Methodists decided to purchase the old Congregational Church building.

The 3rd Street Dance & Theatre Company purchased the old Free Methodist Church building, and opened its dance studio in 1996. The pews and religious relics of the past were removed. In their place, mirrors and ballet bars were installed.