Lakeview United Methodist Church (Shreveport, La.)
Biography
Lakeview United Methodist Church was located at 5550 Lakeshore Drive, Shreveport, La. The congregation experienced multiple name and location changes: Shreveport City Mission (1890), Jordan Street Methodist Episcopal Church South (1890-1898), Texas Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church South (1898-1928), Park Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church South (1928-1939), Park Avenue Methodist Church (1940-1963), Lakeview Methodist Church (1963-1968), and Lakeview United Methodist Church (1968-2018).
The church began as a Sunday School class, organized by Dr. J.H. Scruggs of First Methodist Episcopal Church, South (Shreveport, La.). They met in a little cabin on Van Loan Street. The group received their first pastor (Rev. J.M. Henry) in 1891, at which time they moved their meetings to Capt. Thatcher’s Military School on Jacobs Street. The first church, constructed in 1892, was named the Jordan Street Mission. In 1898, they moved into the new Texas Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church South building. They moved again on February 19, 1929, and were known as the Park Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church South, located at 1702 Park Avenue, Shreveport, La. When Interstate 20 was built, it cut the church off from most of its membership. The decision was made in 1962 to relocate. Rev. James L. Beasley led the congregation in moving to its current location on May 1, 1963. It was renamed the Lakeview Methodist Church.
Lakeview United Methodist Church closed May 2018.
Source: Timothy Hebert, “The Historical Register of the Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church,” (Louisiana: Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, 2004), page SH-43.