St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Alexandria, Virginia)
| St. Paul's Episcopal Church | |
|---|---|
Façade, 2008
|
|
| Basic information | |
| Location | Alexandria, Virginia |
| Geographic coordinates | 38°48′11″N 77°2′43″W / 38.80306°N 77.04528°WCoordinates: 38°48′11″N 77°2′43″W / 38.80306°N 77.04528°W |
| Affiliation | Episcopal Church in the United States of America |
| Year consecrated | 1818 |
| Website | http://www.stpaulsalexandria.com |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Benjamin Latrobe |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| General contractor | Jeremiah Bosworth |
| Groundbreaking | 1817 |
| Completed | 1818 |
| Direction of façade | West |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Added to NRHP | 1985 |
| NRHP Reference no. | 85000987 (National Register Information System) |
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in the Old Town area of Alexandria, Virginia, is an historic Episcopal church in the Anglican Communion. The church sanctuary, consecrated in 1818, was designed by Benjamin Latrobe, the second architect of the United States Capitol. It is one of the few buildings designed by Latrobe in a Gothic style and one of the earliest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the United States. The church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. During the year 2009, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church celebrated the bicentennial of its founding.
During his term as rector of St. Paul’s, 1812–1826, William Holland Wilmer was a major figure in the rebuilding of the Episcopal Church in Virginia in the aftermath of its disestablishment. In addition to founding St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, in 1815, he wrote extensively on church matters, published numerous sermons on special occasions, and contributed regularly to church publications of the time including the "Washington Theological Repertory," which he founded in 1819. In recognition of his many contributions, Wilmer was awarded an honorary doctorate (D.D.) by Brown University in 1820.
In 1823, Wilmer obtained permission from the vestry to build at his own expense a small lecture room on church property at the corner of Pitt and Duke Streets. The building was used as a Sunday school, schoolhouse, and lecture room, and also as a town hall. This building was eventually purchased by the vestry and stood until 1855 when the structure was sold and plans were made for a larger replacement. A larger building in Gothic style was constructed on the same site in 1859 that was also used as a Sunday school, lecture hall and meeting place until its demolition in 1955. While serving as rector of St. Paul’s, Wilmer declined calls to serve other churches: St. John’s, Lafayette Square, in 1817; and Monumental Church, Richmond, Virginia, in 1826. That year, Wilmer became President of The College of William and Mary and rector of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg.
...
Wikipedia