Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Question: What classical Roman structure and nearby civic building inspired the design of Richmond’s Second Baptist Church?

Answer: The Second Baptist Church in Richmond draws from the Maison Carrée, a Roman temple in Nîmes that also inspired Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia State Capitol, and from the Capitol itself. Its portico features elegant Corinthian columns, bringing it closer to the original Roman temple than Jefferson’s simplified Ionic-order version of the Capitol.