Westminster Presbyterian Church, originally named Moore Memorial Presbyterian Church, was created by First (now Downtown) Presbyterian Church to meet the needs of the growing population on the western edge of Nashville. A site was purchased at 1505 Broadway, near the current site of Beaman Toyota. The new church was organized on November 23, 1873 as Moore Memorial Presbyterian Church, named for the First Presbyterian minister Reverend Thomas Verner Moore, who had encouraged its development. For reference, Vanderbilt University was also established in 1873 further down West End Avenue.
Less than two years after ground was broken for the $40,000 church, it was finished, paid for and dedicated on Sunday, March 22, 1874. While the congregation was founded with 45 members, the church grew to 450 by 1903. After World War I, the growth of the city took a rapid leap westward, and business establishments were creeping up around Moore Memorial. Most of congregation lived further out West End Avenue and began planning to move further out of the city where neighborhoods were growing. With 720 members in 1930, the congregation began their fund-raising drive for the new church.