Father Pitt

Tag: Corner Towers

  • Grace United Evangelical Church, Wilkinsburg

    Grace United Evangelical Church

    Kiehnel & Elliott were one of the few Pittsburgh firms to adopt early modern styles at the turn of the twentieth century. When they took on a church, however, they turned completely traditional, and it would be hard to point out anything about this neat little church that sets it apart from the work of other good but conventional architects of the time. This one was built in 1915, and it is a typical Pittsburgh corner-tower Protestant church. Today it is one of our dwindling number of black stone churches, and the soot of the decades gives it a kind of evening-dress dignity it would not have had when it was young.

    Entrance

    The church us beautifully kept by its current occupants, Victory Global Ministries, whose pastor disdains the pompous title “bishop” favored by many nondenominational ministers in favor of the original workaday meaning of the Greek ἐπίσκοπος: “Overseer.”

    Grace United Evangelical Church
    Tower
    Grace United Evangelical Church

    The vanishing of an early addition in the rear shows us something of the original color of the stone.

    Grace United Evangelical Church
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
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  • First Presbyterian Church, Wilkinsburg

    Tower of First Presbyterian Church

    Built in 1898, this church was designed by Vrydaugh & Wolfe in a Romanesque style that carries over elements of the pre-Richardsonian version of Romanesque. It now belongs to the Covenant Church of Pittsburgh, which has kept it beautifully—even the spire, which usually disappears on churches like these.

    First Presbyterian Church
    Old postcard with First Presbyterian Church on it

    An old postcard from the Presbyterian Historical Society collection shows how little the building has changed.

    Tower entrance to First Presbyterian
    First Presbyterian Church
    Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR.
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  • St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church (1913), Homestead

    St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church

    Homestead’s own Adam G. Wickerham, whose office was a short stroll down the street, designed this distinctive Gothic church, the foundation of which was laid in 1913.1 It replaced the earlier St. Matthew’s, which had been built only fourteen years before and still stands a few strides away. In the picture above, we can see another Wickerham building across the street: the old Rodef Shalom synagogue, now a nondenominational church.

    St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
    St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
    St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
    A later wing

    Old Pa Pitt does not know the history of this later wing.

    St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS; Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR.
    1. The Construction Record, August 23, 1913: “Homestead, Pa.—Foundations are in for a $35,000 stone church to be constructed on McClure avenue and Tenth street for St. Mathew’s P. E. Congrega[tion] from plans drawn by Architect Adam Wickerham, McClure avenue.” ↩︎
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  • St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church (1899), Homestead

    Old St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church

    Charles J. Rieger was the architect of this little church with a big tower, which was built in 1899.1 (This is one of the earliest Rieger projects we have found; he had many years of productive work ahead of him.) The congregation must have grown rapidly, because only fourteen years later it moved a block up the street to a larger church. This building was sold to a Hungarian congregation; at some point it ceased to be a church and had a garage door cut into it.

    Cornerstone with Maltese cross and date of 1899
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
    1. Philadelphia Real Estate Record & Builders’ Guide, March 29, 1899, p. 201: “At Homestead, Allegheny county, the vestry of St. Matthews’ Episcopal Church, at a meeting held a few days since, instructed the architect to have all plans and specifications ready by April 4th. Rev. W. J. White Frederick Howden and George Hatcher, committee, Architect Chas. Rieger, Renshaw Building, Pittsburg, Pa., is the architect, and will receive the bids.” ↩︎
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  • St. Mary’s All Souls Protestant Episcopal Church, Braddock

    St. Mary’s Episcopal Church

    Even fifteen years ago this church might have been rescued, but now it has become such a picturesque roofless ruin that the best thing might be to stabilize it, as is often done with ruined Gothic churches in Europe, and leave it as a tourist attraction for moody poetic types. According to the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, it was built in 1901, and the architect was Charles M. Bartberger, the younger of the two Charles Bartbergers.

    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
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  • Christ Methodist Protestant Church, Rankin

    Christ M. P. Church

    The windows have fallen apart, and a few other things could use work, but this pretty little church is still in use as New Testament Ministries.

    Damaged stained-glass window
    Entrance
    Christ Methodist Protestant Church
    Kodak EasyShare Max Z990; Sony Alpha 3000.
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  • Swissvale Presbyterian Church

    Swissvale Presbyterian Church

    Kiehnel & Elliott were the architects of this church, whose cornerstone was laid in 1909. It certainly isn’t typical of the modernistic Art Nouveau designs we associate with Kiehnel & Elliott; but their few churches tended to be more conservative, and here they were probably commissioned by a congregation with conservative tastes. They came through with a typical Pittsburgh corner-tower auditorium church, and the fact that almost nothing has changed since the church was built tells us that the congregation had no reason to regret its choice of architects.

    Cornerstone
    Postcard of First Presbyterian, Swissvale

    A postcard of unknown date from the Presbyterian Historical Society. Father Pitt is grateful for the volunteer work that made nearly a thousand old postcards of churches freely available, so that we can compare them to the standing buildings, and remember the buildings that have vanished. In this case, the comparison shows us that almost nothing has changed.

    Swissvale Presbyterian Church

    You think we have utility cables now, but imagine what it was like when the streetcars ran on Monongahela Avenue.

    Entrance
    Tower
    Side porch

    This side porch feels mysterious and ancient, which is probably a good thing for a church. Wouldn’t you like to come in and discover the ancient mysteries?

    Side porch
    Cupola
    Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR; Sony Alpha 3000.

    It’s easy to miss this small cupola or big finial at the peak of the roof, so old Pa Pitt went after it with a long lens so you can admire it up close.

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  • Knoxville Christian Church

    Knoxville Christian Church

    Knoxville’s own Edwin V. Denick was the architect of this half-shingled corner-tower church,1 currently abandoned. Since it sits right next to the Knoxville Presbyterian Church that burned last month, and since it has been boarded up by the city, we have to assume that it could vanish at any time, so here are a few pictures to document it before it goes. We’ll put it it the Endangered category on our scale of Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, and Demolished.

    Tower
    Side entrances
    Side entrance
    Knoxville Christian Church
    Kodak EasyShare Max Z990.

    In the gables that face the street, the shingles have been replaced with artificial siding; but we can still see them on this gable in the back of the building.

    1. Source: Pittsburg Press, May 26, 1904, p. 2. “Foundations have been started on the buff brick stone and terra cotta church being built on Charles and Knox avenues, Knoxville, for the Knoxville Christian congregation from plans drawn by Architect E. V. Denick.” ↩︎

  • Spencer Methodist Episcopal Church, Carrick

    Spencer Methodist Episcopal Church (now Spencer United Methodist Church)

    Now Spencer United Methodist. Charles W. Bier was the architect of this church,1 which opened in 1925. It sits on a steeply sloping lot at the southern end of Carrick, so that—like many Pittsburgh churches—it has ground-level entrances on two ground levels.

    Spencer Methodist Episcopal Church (now Spencer United Methodist Church)
    Tower

    An open belfry becomes a nuisance to maintain, and when the bells are silenced—as they have been in most of our churches—the belfry is often filled in.

    Basement entrance
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
    1. The American Contractor, April 14, 1923: “Carrick, Pa.—Church:$100,000. 1 sty. 100×72. Church st. & Spencer av., Carrick. Archt. Chas. W. Bier, Pittsburgh Life bldg., Pittsburgh, Pa. Owner The Spencer M. E. Congr., Spv. Gilbert G. Gallagher, 117 Spencer av., Carrick. Solid brk. Drawing prelim. plans.” The church as built does not seem like a $100,000 church. But the dimensions and estimate went up: November 3, 1923: “Church: $140,000. 1 sty. & bas. 75×143. Church st. & Spencer av., Garrick [sic]. Archt. Chas. W. Bier, Pittsburgh Life bldg., Pittsburgh, Pa. Owner The Spencer M. E. Congr., Rev. Gilbert G. Gallagher, 117 Spencer av., Garrick. Revising plans.” The current church looks like Bier’s work; we can only guess that the ambitious plans were scaled back a bit before construction began. ↩︎
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  • St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Hazelwood

    St. Paul’s Lutheran Church (Holy Cross), Hazelwood
    Kodak EasyShare Max Z990.

    A small church that still belongs to Lutherans, now as Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Chapel (a Missouri Synod congregation). It is an exception to the general rule that Lutherans did not build corner-tower auditorium churches; the shape of the tiny lot dictated the shape of the church. The slope dictated that the sanctuary would be on the second floor if you enter from the front, but the ground floor if you enter from the back.