Status: Active, Catholic

Founded: 1895
Construction: 1909

29th & Dickinson Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19146

http://www.archdiocese-phl.org/parishes/7845.htm

http://stgabrielparish.org/

Since South Philadelphia has insofar been horribly underrepresented, the Project returns to help the area make up some ground. This week, we travel to the Gray’s Ferry area to take a gander at St. Gabriel.

It wouldn’t be out of line to say that St. Gabriel is one of the more unique churches we’ve seen. Why? I’m glad you asked. We’ve well documented that most churches share a very angular, rectangular design. Gabriel, however, scoffs at the Lord’s demand for pointy corners. This particular church stands out because it’s rounded at the front ends, creating a unique “enveloping” effect. Even more interesting is that the front façade, usually the most prominent and beautiful aspect of a church’s exterior, isn’t the highest point of the church. It’s the first instance I’ve ever seen where the main body of the church is higher than the façade. It works better than you might think, but it’s still strange.

Inside, Gabriel scores a lot of points for its sizeable marble altar, beautiful paintwork and smart use of warm, earthy tones like yellow and gold. There are also about a half dozen miniature shrines off to each side of the church, each dedicated to a particular saint or religious figure. And don’t miss the fantastic stations of the cross, which are done as large-scale, full-color, fully detailed, three-dimensional carvings. They’re not to be missed!

LOOK FOR IT: Interesting things come in threes, I guess. The church slopes slightly downward from entrance to altar. Again, the first time I’ve seen anything like it. It’s a cool, if somewhat disconcerting, effect.

It may look a little funky from the outside, but St. Gabriel is a great addition.

Size Rating: 8 out of 10

Ornamentation Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Overall Design Rating: 8.5 out of 10 crosses

The Project has yet to encounter a church that’s easier to see yet more difficult to get to than St. Gabriel. It’s clearly visible from I-76, yet finding it requires traversing a bedeviling maze of traffic and contradictory one-way streets. Only local residents have any hope of finding this place easily. It got so bad that I cursed numerous times. Yes, on my way to church.

If you must go, don’t take 76. It's a tempting choice, but you’d be better off chewing tinfoil. Take I-95 and cut across Snyder or Passyunk avenues. It’s still bad, but it’s really the lesser of two evils.

As for safety, well, as I mentioned above, the area is confounding in its contradictions. That said, we parked adjacent to church property and had no problems.

Safety Rating: 8 out of 10 tire irons

I nicknamed this church the “Pod People Parish,” because the various shrines along the side stick out from the church in a manner than resembles a grouping of, well, pods. It’s not easy to tell from this picture, but if you go MSN’s “Maps & Directions” and type in this address, you’ll get an aerial view that’ll show you exactly what I mean.