Father Pitt

Why should the beautiful die?


Dormont Presbyterian Church

Dormont Presbyterian Church with Ginkgo biloba leaves

We have seen this especially fine church before, but since old Pa Pitt was out walking on Potomac Avenue in early-evening light, he decided that we could see it again. It is now the Dormont campus of the nondenominational North Way Christian Community, which fortunately has the money to keep up the exterior.

Dormont Presbyterian Church, Espy Avenue side
Tower of Dormont Presbyterian Church
Side porch
Espy Avenue entrance
Parsonage

The parsonage is just the sort of elegant and respectable dwelling you need for your Presbyterian minister. With a broad English Gothic arch at the entrance to link it to the church, it makes a good transition between the monumental church and the prosperous merchant-class houses on Espy Avenue.

Addendum: Father Pitt tentatively attributes the church to Chauncey W. Hodgdon. Mr. Hodgdon was hired to supervise alterations in 1914,(1) and it was considered unethical for another architect to alter or add to a building within a few years of its construction unless the original one refused, or was unavailable, or was rejected by the client.(2)

Footnotes


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