Do you know where July went? The Project doesn’t. We last remember it being the middle of June, or thereabouts. And suddenly, we wake up and it’s the beginning of August. Talk about a blackout! Our News & Notes postings are the only proof that we haven’t been passed out in a South Philadelphia gutter the whole time.
Anyway, let’s shake out the cobwebs with a trip to Center City’s Episcopalian St. Stephen. Truth be told, I tried to come here once before, back in December. Do you remember the Project’s holiday sabbatical? That was the trip that caused it.
The less we say about it the better, although scheduling mishaps, dead batteries and a borderline case of frostbite pretty much turned me into a raving lunatic. Well, more of one than usual.
This trip turned out to be much more pleasant, albeit it marginally so. St. Stephen is an old, old parish. Founded in 1823, it’s purported to be the first Gothic church in Philadelphia, and the first to have stained glass windows. There’s a lot of history here, and, featuring work by Tiffany, Frank Furness and others, a lot of architectural value.
Maybe it used to, anyway. Not so much. Let’s break it down like this:
The Good: A nice sanctuary, highlighted by a cool stained-glass window / stone-frame reredos, and a neat tile rendering of the last supper. There’s also an assortment of cool little standalone decorations, such as the baptismal font in the back right-hand corner of the church and an ornate marble angle statue in one of the side alcoves.
The Weird: A cleaving balcony and flat roof, which you never see in gothic architecture. Oh, and the church isn’t completely non-cruciform, since there’s a transept on the left-hand side. Huh?
The Just Plain Bad: Paging Dr. Tabula Rasa. Whatever value St. Stephen’s once had, its caretakers have gunked it up by embracing new-age nonsense. The pews have been removed, and a motley assortment of chairs, stands and tables now lay haphazardly around the nave. Oh, and there’s a reflecting pool, too. Pardon my language, but seriously, WTF?
The following two pictures give an idea of what the interior looked like once upon a time. The first is from 1860, the second from 1917.
Pictures Courtesy St. Stephen
I don’t have current interior shots (more on that below), but trust me, it looks little like this now. In fact, the 1860 shot showcases a completely different sanctuary than the one they currently have. Tabula Rasa, indeed.
The Project hates new-age trends more than anything, and to see a piece of architectural history ruined by it, well, let’s just say it gets our blood a-boiling. Not that St. Stephen was necessarily the prettiest church in the world—the exterior is proof of that—but there’s great value in respecting what your forbearers built. Running a parish is like accepting a covenant to respect and protect what has been entrusted to you. Doing crap like this doesn’t do them, or you, for that matter, any credit.
Oh, and because of the redesign, the best part that still remains, the sanctuary, isn’t even used. Sigh.
Some neat stuff, but it doesn’t amount to much anymore. Thanks, guys.
Size Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Ornamentation Rating: 5 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 6 out of 10 crosses
