St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (Philadelphia)

Last updated
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
St Steves Philly 2.jpg
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
Location19 South 10th Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°57′2.61″N75°9′24.72″W / 39.9507250°N 75.1568667°W / 39.9507250; -75.1568667
Built1823
Architect William Strickland (1822)
Frank Furness (1879)
Architectural style Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No. 79002329 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 4, 1979

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. [2] [3] 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. [4] On May 28, 1957, it was designated a historic landmark by the Philadelphia Historical Commission. [5]

Contents

History

Franklin Kite Plaque Benjamin Franklin plaque, Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 20060906.png
Franklin Kite Plaque

Called "bold" in its time, St. Stephen's is an example of Philadelphia's earliest Gothic Revival buildings that responded to the great local demand for this type since the 1780s. Long considered "misunderstood" Gothic, this early or "Georgian" Gothic, popular in 18th-century Britain, recalls the architecture of Protestant Tudor England (1485–1603) rather than the high Gothic of the Pre-Reformation 12th century that inspired the familiar Gothic Revival from the 1830s on. [6] Architect Frank Furness added a transept and vestry room in 1878.

A plaque on the outside front wall, apparently unrelated to the oval Philadelphia Historical Commission marker above it, reads: "THIS CHURCH IS BUILT ON THE SITE WHERE BENJ. FRANKLIN FLEW HIS FAMOUS KITE," though the history of the marker is unclear, and apparently unrelated to the oval Philadelphia Historical Commission marker above it.

Artwork

The sanctuary contains a great deal of artwork from throughout the church's history. Sculptor Carl Johann Steinhauser was commissioned to create two sculptures for the church: the "Angel of the Resurrection" (also known as the Burd Children's Memorial, for three of the children of Edward Shippen Burd and Eliza Howard Sims Burd) in 1852 and the Burd Baptismal font, completed in 1857. Architect Richard Upjohn designed a side chapel (1849–1853) to house the Burd Children's Monument. Other artwork includes the Burd Canopy Tomb (c. 1860), designed by architect Frank Wills and sculpted by Henry Kirke Brown; various memorials to former rectors; and, until it was purchased by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2004, the sculpture The Angel of Purity by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. [2] [7]

The sanctuary features stained glass windows created by D'Ascenzo Studios as well as Louis Comfort Tiffany of Tiffany Studios. Architect Henry Holiday designed two of the stained glass windows in the sanctuary in addition to the Venetian glass mosaic of The Last Supper (1887–1889) above the altar. [7]

Rectors

In the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the rector is the priest elected to head a self-supporting parish.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Burlington, New Jersey</span> Historic church in New Jersey, United States

St. Mary's Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal parish in Burlington, Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. The original church was built in 1703. It was supplemented with a new church on adjacent land in 1854. On May 31, 1972, the new church was added to the National Register of Historic Places and on June 24, 1986, it was declared a National Historic Landmark. It is within the Burlington Historic District.

<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. 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">St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Philadelphia)</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

St. Peter's Church is a historic Episcopal church located on the corner of Third and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It opened for worship on September 4, 1761 and served as a place of worship for many of the United States Founding Fathers during the period of the Continental Congresses. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996. The church remains an active parish; the current priest-in-charge is the Rev. Dr. Clarke French.

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

Saint Clement's Church is an historic Anglo-Catholic parish in Logan Square, Center City, Philadelphia. It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. The church, designed by architect John Notman, was built in 1856. It originally incorporated a spire more than 200 feet (61 m) tall; this was found to be too heavy for the foundation and was removed in 1869. In 1929, the church building, which includes the parish house and rectory, and weighs 5000 tons, was lifted onto steel rollers and moved forty feet west to allow for the widening of 20th Street. On November 20, 1970, Saint Clement's Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<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">North Woodward Congregational Church</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The St. John's Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a church located in Detroit, Michigan. It was built as the North Woodward Congregational Church, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints Church (Peterborough, New Hampshire)</span> Historic church in New Hampshire, United States

All Saints Church is an historic Episcopal church located at 51 Concord Street in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in the United States. Completed in 1914, it is a completely realized example of an English country church as interpreted by the architect Ralph Adams Cram. On December 1, 1980, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Episcopal Church (Mobile, Alabama)</span> Historic church in Alabama, United States

Trinity Episcopal Church is a historic church in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was the first large Gothic Revival church built in Alabama. The building was designed by architects Frank Wills and Henry Dudley.

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

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church located in Earleville, Cecil County, Maryland.

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

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is an historic Episcopal church building located northeast of Ridgeway, South Carolina, on County Road 106. Built of wood in 1854 in the Carpenter Gothic style, it was designed by the Rev. John Dewitt McCollough, who later became its rector. The exterior was painted a maroon color. In 1920, its exterior wood was covered by brick veneer, so that it appears today as a brick Gothic Revival style building on the outside while the interior retains its Carpenter Gothic features. A wing was added in the 1940s to create space for a parish hall and Sunday school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (Swanton, Vermont)</span> Historic church in Vermont, United States

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church also known as Holy Trinity Memorial Church is an historic Episcopal church building located at 38 Grand Avenue in the village of Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont. Built in 1876 and expanded in 1909-10, the church facilities include a fine example of the Carpenter Gothic in the older section, and the Late Victorian Gothic Revival in the newer section. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Parish of the Holy Trinity in 2001. The church is an active parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont; its current rector is the Rev. Reid D. Farrell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Church, Princeton</span> Church in New Jersey, United States

Trinity Church is a historic Episcopal congregation located at 33 Mercer Street in Princeton, New Jersey. It is the largest Episcopal church in New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Episcopal Church (Fort Wayne, Indiana)</span> Historic church in Indiana, United States

Trinity Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal congregation and church, designed by Toledo, Ohio architect Charles Crosby Miller and constructed ca. 1865 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The congregation was organized in 1839 as Christ Church and the name changed in 1844 to Trinity Church. The first church was built on the southeast corner of Berry and Harrison Streets in 1848. It is an example of Gothic Revival architecture.

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

St. Paul's Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church at Old York and Ashbourne Roads in Elkins Park, Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was originally built in 1861, and is a gray stone church in the Gothic style. The church was conceived by noted financier Jay Cooke (1821–1905), along with John W. Thomas, J.F. Peniston and William C. Houston. Its size was doubled with an expansion in 1870, and a 60-foot-tall tower added. A transept was added in 1883, and the two-story parish hall wing in 1891. Architect Horace Trumbauer (1868–1938) made some refinements to the church during the 1897 to 1924 period. The main sanctuary of the church features 13 stained glass windows from Tiffany studios.

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

Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church is an historic church, which is located at 1500 Lombard Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, it also appears in the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places and the Pennsylvania State Historic Resource survey.

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

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Exton, also known as St. Paul's Church, is a historic church at 1105 E. Lincoln Highway in Exton, Pennsylvania in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in the area known as the Great Valley. It was built in 1828 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as St. Paul's Church. It is one of the 155 parish churches of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Episcopal Church (Iowa City, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

Trinity Episcopal Church is a parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. The church is located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 2021, the building was included as a contributing property in the Iowa City Downtown Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Holy Communion (St. Peter, Minnesota)</span> Historic church in Minnesota, United States

The Church of the Holy Communion is an historic stone Episcopal church building located at 116 North Minnesota Avenue St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. Designed by noted ecclesiastical architect Henry Martyn Congdon of New York City in the Gothic Revival style of architecture, it was built in 1869 of Kasota limestone. It features buttresses and a steeply sloping gabled roof with smaller gabled eye-windows on each slope of the roof. On May 19, 1983, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

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

The St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Franklin, Louisiana, United States, is a historic church at 805 1st Street. Designed by New Orleans architect James Freret for R.W. Micou, it was advertised by the Lhote Lumber Company in its 1883 Buyers' Guide.

St. David's Episcopal Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Wissahickon Deanery of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. In 1960, the parish reported 621 members; it reported 37 members in 2019. English-born mill-workers were heavily represented in its early population, while mill owners were successive wardens, vestrymen, and treasurers.

References

Notes

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 Martin Aurand, 1978, NRHP Nomination Form for St. Stephen's Church Enter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site.
  3. Schless, Nancy Halverson (2000). "Strickland, William (1788-1854), architect and engineer". American National Biography. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1700838. ISBN   978-0-19-860669-7 . Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  4. "National Register of Historic Places". National Archives Catalog. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  5. "Philadelphia Register of Historic Places" (PDF). Philadelphia Historical Commission. November 16, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  6. Lindfield, Peter (2016). Georgian gothic : medievalist architecture, furniture and interiors, 1730-1840. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN   978-1-78204-838-1. OCLC   958570942.
  7. 1 2 "Historical Art and Architecture". St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 mjk38 (2014-08-28). "The Rich Heritage of 125 Years of Christian Service: St. Stephen's Church in the City of Philadelphia (1948)". Philadelphia Studies. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  9. "St. Stephen's Church". Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  10. "Staff". St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. Retrieved April 3, 2021.