Church of the Advocate

Last updated

George W. South Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church of the Advocate
Church-of-the-Advocate-Phila.png
Street map of Philadelphia and surrounding area.png
Red pog.svg
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location18th & Diamond Sts.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°59′9″N75°9′49″W / 39.98583°N 75.16361°W / 39.98583; -75.16361
Built1887
ArchitectCharles Marquedant Burns; Arthur H. Williams & Sons
Architectural styleGothic Revival
NRHP reference No. 80003620 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 8, 1980
Designated NHLJune 19, 1996
Designated PHMCJuly 29, 1999 [2]
Ordination to the priesthood of the Philadelphia Eleven 1974PhiladelphiaOrdinations.jpg
Ordination to the priesthood of the Philadelphia Eleven

The George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate, also known as the George W. South Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church, is a historic church at 18th and Diamond Street in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Contents

History

The church was built from 1887 to 1897 as a memorial to the merchant and civil leader George W. South. The church was designed by Charles Marquedant Burns (1838 – 1922), a prominent church architect in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was intended to serve as the Episcopal Cathedral of Philadelphia. [3]

On July 29, 1974, the church was the site of the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven, the first women priests in the Episcopal Church. [4] [5]

The church contains a series of 14 murals [6] depicting vignettes of the Black experience in America, including slavery, emancipation, and scenes from the Civil Rights Movement. They were painted between 1973 and 1976 by Philadelphia artist Walter Edmonds [7] and Richard J. Watson. [8] The murals can be found primarily in the transepts and aisles of the church. Father Washington commissioned the murals in response to black parishioners who felt that the African-American experience was not validated in the church despite the fact that the majority of the community was African-American. Each of the fourteen murals was painted by either Edmonds or Watson, each of whom has a very different artistic style. Edmonds's [9] pieces are mostly in fiery shades of orange and yellow and depict the violent oppression of blacks in America. Watson, [10] on the other hand, used a cooler palette in his paintings to express sorrow in the black experience and the importance of memorializing this history as a way to find courage for the future.

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 19, 1996. The landmark designation cited the church as one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture, with a complete set of stained glass windows provided by the English firm Clayton & Bell. It also cited the church's ongoing role in activism for African American civil rights. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

The Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is an historic church and congregation which is located at 419 South 6th Street in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The congregation, founded in 1794, is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal congregation in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (Philadelphia)</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is a historic parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, founded in 1823 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and located at 19 South Tenth Street, on the corner of Tenth Street and Ludlow Street. St. Stephen's was designed by William Strickland in the Gothic revival style. It is the oldest extant building in Philadelphia in this style and was designed by an architect-engineer best known for Greek Revival buildings, though, like his mentor Benjamin Latrobe, he produced buildings in other "picturesque" styles as well. St. Stephen's first service was held on February 27, 1823. On June 4, 1979, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. On May 28, 1957, it was designated a historic landmark by the Philadelphia Historical Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church</span> National Historic Site of the United States

Gloria Dei Church, known locally as Old Swedes', is a historic church located in the Southwark neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 929 South Water Street, bounded by Christian Street on the north, South Christopher Columbus Boulevard on the east, and Washington Avenue on the south. It was built between 1698 and 1700, making it the oldest church in Pennsylvania and second oldest Swedish church in the United States after Holy Trinity Church in Wilmington, Delaware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church, Philadelphia</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

Christ Church is an Episcopal church in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1695 as a parish of the Church of England, it played an integral role in the founding of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. In 1785, its rector, William White, became the first Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Mary's Church, Hamilton Village</span> Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

St. Mary’s Church, Hamilton Village, is an Episcopal Church located on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It calls itself the Episcopal Church at Penn to emphasize its campus ministry. The parish is part of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. In 2022, it reported 226 members, 33 average attendance, and plate and pledge financial support of $103,951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot</span> United States historic place

The Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot, now known as the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, was founded as the Schuylkill Arsenal in 1799.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumblethorpe</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Grumblethorpe was the home of the Wister family in the present-day Germantown section of Philadelphia, who lived there for over 160 years. It was built in 1744 as a summer residence, but it became the family's year-round residence in 1793. It is a museum, part of the Colonial Germantown Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St. James the Less, Philadelphia</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

The Church of St. James the Less is a historic Episcopal church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that was architecturally influential. As St. James-the-Less Episcopal Church, it was designated a National Historic Landmark for its Gothic Revival architecture, which influenced a generation of subsequent churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athenaeum of Philadelphia</span> Member-supported library and museum

The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located at 219 S. 6th Street between St. James Place and Locust Street in the Society Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a special collections library and museum founded in 1814. The Athenaeum's purpose, according to its organizational principles, is to collect materials "connected with the history and antiquities of America, and the useful arts, and generally to disseminate useful knowledge" for public benefit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic RittenhouseTown</span> United States historic place

Historic RittenhouseTown, sometimes referred to as Rittenhouse Historic District, encompasses the remains of an early industrial community which was the site of the first paper mill in British North America. The mill was built in 1690 by William Rittenhouse and his son Nicholas on the north bank of Paper Mill Run near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The district, off Lincoln Drive near Wissahickon Avenue in Fairmount Park, includes six of up to forty-five original buildings. RittenhouseTown was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark District on April 27, 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Pleasant (mansion)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Mount Pleasant is a historic mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, atop cliffs overlooking the Schuylkill River. It was built about 1761–62 in what was then the countryside outside the city by John Macpherson and his wife Margaret. Macpherson was a privateer, or perhaps a pirate, who had had "an arm twice shot off" according to John Adams. He named the house "Clunie" after the ancient seat of his family's clan in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Lazaretto</span> United States historic place, first quarantine hospital in the United States

The Philadelphia Lazaretto was the Second quarantine hospital in the United States, built in 1799, in Tinicum Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The site was originally inhabited by the Lenni Lenape, and then the first Swedish settlers. Nearby Province Island was the site of the confinement of the Christian Moravian Indians who were brought there under protective custody from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1763 when their lives were threatened by the Paxton Boys. The facility predates similar national landmarks such as Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital and Angel Island and is considered both the oldest surviving quarantine hospital and the last surviving example of its type in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Trinity Church</span> Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Old Trinity Church, also known as Trinity Church, Oxford, is a historic Episcopal church established in 1696 located in Oxford Township, Pennsylvania, which is now part of Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Jerusalem AME Church</span> Historic site in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Little Jerusalem AME Church, also known as Bensalem AME Church, is a historic African Methodist Episcopal church located at 1200 Bridgewater Road in Cornwells Heights, Bensalem Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1830 and renovated about 1860 and 1896. It is a 1+12-story, one-room frame structure with a gable roof. The cemetery surrounding the church contains burials of black Civil War soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Mauch Chunk Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Old Mauch Chunk Historic District is a national historic district located in Jim Thorpe, Carbon County, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Altoona Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Downtown Altoona Historic District is a national historic district located at Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 240 contributing buildings in the central business district and surrounding residential areas of Altoona. The buildings were primarily built after about 1860 and include residential, civic, social, and religious buildings. Although it does not encompass the entire downtown, it is for the most part the most urban part of Altoona's downtown district. Notable buildings include the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (1920s), First Methodist Episcopal Church, First Presbyterian Church, First Evangelical Lutheran Church (1896-1897), U.S. Post Office (1931-1933), Fraternal Order of Eagles Building (demolished), Altoona City Hall, Casanave Building (1890s), Hutchison Block, McCrory's Department Store (1937), and Aaron-Penn Furniture Building. Located in the district are the separately listed Central Trust Company Buildings, Mishler Theatre, and Penn Alto Hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Union Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Mount Union Historic District is a national historic district located at Mount Union in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 58 contributing buildings, 3 contributing sites, and 1 contributing structure in the central business district and surrounding residential areas of Mount Union. Notable buildings include the Federal-style John Shaver House (1818), Shapiro Theater (1915), T.A. Appleby Store and House, Kenmar Hotel, Penn Central National Bank (1916), Peduzzi's and the Weller Building (1913-1914), Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Depot (1914), St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church (1904-1905), First United Methodist Church (1925-1926), St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church (1912-1913), Mount Union Elementary School (1923-1924), and U.S. Post Office (1936). The contributing sites include the I.O.O.F. community cemetery, founded in 1872, and the former Victoria Park. Located in the district and listed separately is the Harbison-Walker Refractories Company complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robertsdale Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Robertsdale Historic District is a national historic district that is located in Robertsdale in Wood Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Johnstown Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Downtown Johnstown Historic District is a national historic district located at Johnstown in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 109 contributing buildings, 4 contributing sites, and 1 contributing structure in the central business district and surrounding residential areas of Johnstown. The district includes some buildings dated before the Johnstown Flood, but the majority date from 1890 to 1930. Notable buildings include the Alma Hall (1884), Bantley Building (1888), Stenger Dry Goods Store (1883), Widmann Building (1892), Cambria Iron Office Building, St. Vincent DePaul Building, Swank Building (1907), Glosser Brothers Department Store (1905), Johnstown City Hall (1900), former U.S. Post Office (1912), State Theater (1926), U.S. Post Office (1938), Franklin Street United Methodist Church (1869), St. John Gualbert Cathedral (1896), First United Methodist Church (1911), Elks Building (1903), and Moose Building (1917). Located in the district and listed separately are the Cambria Public Library Building, G.A.R. Hall, and Nathan's Department Store.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Edmonds (artist)</span> American artist

Walter Edmonds was an American artist best known for the 14 murals he painted with Richard J. Watson for the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  3. Listing Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine as a National Historic Landmark at the National Park Service.
  4. "Woman in the News: Advocate of Equality, Barbara C. Harris", New York Times, by Peter Steinfels, September 26, 1988.
  5. Charles V. Willie, "The Priesthood of All Believers: Sermon preached on the occasion of a Service of Ordination..., July 29, 1974" in Betty Bone Schiess, Why Me Lord?: One Woman's Ordination to the Priesthood with Commentary and Complaint (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003) pp. 145-152
  6. "Paintings on the Bible and the Black Experience". Archived from the original on February 4, 2002. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  7. Naedele, Walter F. (June 18, 2011). "Philadelphia artist Walter Edmonds, 73". Philadelphia Inquirer - Obituaries. The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  8. Valerio, William R (2015). We speak : black artists in Philadelphia, 1920s–1970s. Philadelphia: Woodmere Art Museum. p. 227. ISBN   9781888008005.
  9. "Painting Eleven". Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  10. "Painting Ten". Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  11. "NHL nomination for Church of the Advocate". National Park Service. Retrieved March 17, 2017.