University Circle United Methodist Church traces its history back to 1831, when the earliest Methodist gatherings in Cleveland were held at Doan's Corners. The church was christened Epworth-Euclid Methodist Church in 1919 with the merger between two historic congregations – Euclid Avenue Methodist Episcopal and Epworth Memorial Church. The latter congregation was the birthplace of the Epworth League, an international Christian youth movement. In 2010, the members of Epworth-Euclid United Methodist Church and First United Methodist Church of Cleveland voted to combine congregations to form University Circle United Methodist Church.
The present building was designed by noted architect Bertram Goodhue shortly before his death in 1924. The Cleveland-based Walker & Weeks firm saw the project to completion four years later. Goodhue's towering steeple, modeled after Mont Saint Michel in France, was dubbed the "Holy Oil Can" by students on the Western Reserve campus – a nickname still used today.
