The Memorial Presbyterian Church is a historic church constructed in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1889 by American industrialist Henry Morrison Flagler. It is located at 32 Sevilla Street. It was dedicated to the memory of his daughter Jennie Louise Benedict, who died following complications from childbirth at sea in March 1889. [1]
Flagler was a life-long member of the Presbyterian Church, and upon his daughter's death chose a plot of land on the corner of Sevilla and Valencia Streets, which was very near his hotels, to construct a new church building for the Presbyterian congregation in St. Augustine, the first in Florida. [2] The building, the land it sits on, and the parsonage at the time were all donated to the Presbyterian Church and exchanged for land they owned on St. George and Hypolita Streets (Flagler would later build a municipal building for the city on this site). [3]
Like Flagler's other St. Augustine buildings (the Hotel Ponce de Leon, the Hotel Alcazar, and Grace United Methodist Church), Memorial Presbyterian was designed by John M. Carrere and Thomas Hastings of Carrere and Hastings architecture firm in New York; however, it greatly differs in architectural style. St. Mark's Basilica inspired the Venetian Renaissance style and Latin cross-shaped sanctuary in Venice. [2] It contains design elements of Spanish, Moorish, Italian, and Baroque style. The building was constructed by builders McGuire and McDonald using poured concrete mixed with coquina, a process also used in Flagler's other buildings as well as in Franklin W. Smith's nearby Villa Zorayda and Casa Monica Hotel.
The cost of the construction was around $250,000. Many of the exterior architectural details were created with gold and white terracotta. [4] The copper dome was created in Italy, the floors are Italian marble, the pews are carved from mahogany, and the baptismal font was carved from a single block of Siena marble. [5] The baptismal font's inscription reads, "'In Memoriam—F. H. B. to J. L, B.—March 25th, 1889. I will be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. (Genesis 17:7)". [6] The church was dedicated on March 16, 1890, and the ceremony was attended by many dignitaries, including First Lady Caroline Harrison, and Vice President Levi Morton. [3] Stained glass windows designed by German artist Herman T. Schladermundt took twelve years to complete and were finally installed in 1901. [2] When Flagler died in 1913, he was interred in a marble mausoleum connected to the church alongside his daughter Jennie, his infant granddaughter Margery, and first wife Mary Harkness Flagler. [7]
In 2012, CNN included Memorial Presbyterian in a list of one of the top eight religious wonders to visit in the United States. [8]
Following Hurricane Irma in 2017, Memorial Presbyterian's copper dome underwent a major restoration costing $3.5 million. The 900 pound cross that sat at the top of the dome fell and pierced several holes through the copper. The cross was removed while the dome was repaired, but was later returned. [9] As of March 2019, the church is continuing renovation work to repair damage from Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Irma. [10]
The current Pastor and Head of Staff is Flagler College graduate Rev. Dr. W. Hunter Camp, II. [11] Free self-guided building tours are available to the public on Fridays from 11AM-3:30PM.
St. Augustine is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County located 40 miles south of downtown Jacksonville. The city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish colonists, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in what is now the contiguous United States.
Flagler College is a private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. It was founded in 1968 and offers 37 undergraduate majors and two master's programs. It also had a campus in Tallahassee from 2000-2024.
Henry Morrison Flagler was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder of the Florida East Coast Railway. He is also known as a co-founder and major investor of the cities of Miami and Palm Beach, Florida.
The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, often known simply as Spanish Revival, is a term used to encompass a number of revivalist architectural styles based in both Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general. These styles flourished throughout the Americas, especially in former Spanish colonies, from California to Argentina.
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México.
Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings, was an American architecture firm specializing in Beaux-Arts architecture. Located in New York City, the firm practiced from 1885 until 1929, although Hastings practiced alone after Carrère died in an automobile accident in 1911.
The Lightner Museum is a museum of antiques, mostly American Gilded Age pieces, housed within the historic Hotel Alcazar building in downtown St. Augustine. This 1887 Spanish Renaissance Revival style building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Thomas Hastings was an American architect, and a partner in the firm of Carrère and Hastings.
Whitehall is a 75-room, 100,000 square foot Gilded Age palace type mansion open to the public in Palm Beach, Florida in the United States. Completed in 1902, it is a major example of neoclassical Beaux Arts architecture designed by Carrère and Hastings for Henry Flagler, a leading captain of industry in the late 19th century, and a leading developer of Florida as a tourist destination. The building is listed a National Historic Landmark. It now houses the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, named after its builder.
The Casa Monica Hotel is a historic hotel located in St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. It was originally named Casa Monica, then Cordova Hotel, then Alcazar Annex, and now has its original name again. The Casa Monica Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in the United States and is a member of the Historic Hotels of America in the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Hotel Ponce de Leon, also known as The Ponce, was a luxury hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, built by millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler. Built between 1885–1887, the winter resort opened in January 1888. The hotel was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style as the first major project of the New York architecture firm Carrère & Hastings, which gained world renown for more than 600 projects, including the House and Senate Office Buildings flanking the US Capitol. Their final project was the New York Public Library.
Lincolnville Historic District is a neighborhood in St. Augustine, Florida established by freedmen following the American Civil War and located on the southwest peninsula of the "nation's oldest city." It was designated as an historic district in 1991 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally recorded with 548 contributing buildings, the district is bounded by Cedar, Riberia, Cerro and Washington streets and DeSoto Place.
Grace United Methodist Church is a historic church donated to the people of St. Augustine, Florida, by American industrialist Henry Morrison Flagler. It is located at 8 Carrera Street. Built within a one-year span, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 1979, for its architectural significance and as an example of community planning.
The Ormond Hotel was a historic hotel in Ormond Beach, Florida, United States. It was located at 15 East Granada Boulevard.
The David W. Dyer Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, formerly known simply as the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, is an historic United States Post Office and federal courthouse of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida located at 300 Northeast 1st Avenue in Miami, Florida. Built in 1931 of limestone, it is the largest such structure in South Florida.
Andrew Anderson II was an American physician, philanthropist, mayor and benefactor of St. Augustine, Florida. Anderson commissioned multiple works of art to adorn a variety of public spaces in the city of St. Augustine, including the two Medici lion statues placed at the approach to the Bridge of Lions.
Owen Preston Woodcock, most commonly known as O.P. Woodcock, was an American builder. Many of his works are associated with Marsh & Saxelbye, and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the continental United States, was founded in 1565 by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. The Spanish Crown issued an asiento to Menéndez, signed by King Philip II on March 20, 1565, granting him various titles, including that of adelantado of Florida, and expansive privileges to exploit the lands in the vast territory of Spanish Florida, called La Florida by the Spaniards. This contract directed Menéndez to explore the region's Atlantic coast and report on its features, with the object of finding a suitable location to establish a permanent colony from which the Spanish treasure fleet could be defended and Spain's claimed territories in North America protected against incursions by other European powers.
Fred A Henderich was a leading architect of the Florida land boom of the 1920s. He was a native of New York and graduated from Columbia University. Henderich came to Saint Augustine in 1905 to work for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Hotel Company and lived and worked in the city for over twenty years.
Lawrence Lewis Jr. (1918-1995) was an American businessman, hotelier, philanthropist, and benefactor remembered for his role in founding Flagler College.
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