The Project returns to the Rox to visit a church that's most definitely within the neighborhood limits, no ifs, ands or buts--the Episcopalian parish of St. Timothy. Most definitely not to be confused with the Mayfair parish of the same name.
Not that anyone really would. Roxborough's St. Timothy is a squat, sprawling Gothic structure that's in no way similar to its towering, tweener Mayfair cousin.
A squat church, you say? Why bother? Indeed, St. Timothy is one of the churches I need to talk myself into doing. Some are slam dunks; others take quite a bit of coercion, either from myself or someone else. I had St. Timothy on my list for a while, but it took almost a year of vacillating before I stopped the "yes, no, yes, no" carousel, got off my duff and ventured down Ridge Pike.
It's not a bad trip. No one is going to mistake St. Timothy for the best in Philly church architecture, but it has some interesting features. Most prominent is the large, almost bucolic cemetery that extends out from both sides of the building.
As you know, the Project loves cemeteries, and this one's pretty good. Not as large as Cathedral Cemetery at Our Mother of Sorrows or even as ornate as the one at St. James the Less, but nice nonetheless. A big plus.
The building, as noted above, is kind of squat, but the dark stone and red-highlighted black roof are eye-catching. Inside, we get little of note. There's a very lovely tile mosaic sanctuary and apse, a handsome side altar, some smaller but nice stained glass windows and even stations of the cross, which is a real rarity in Protestant architecture.
Beyond that, dark wood, white paint. Excuse me, I need to go throw up before I continue.
How the $#%@ do I get in here? Not easily, I grant you. There are only two entrances, both side doors, and one is accessible only from the porch of the adjoining parish house. It's not tough to find, but come on! Give the poor Project a break.
Old vs. Older Churches: St. Tim's was built in 1862, making it one of the oldest churches we've seen, so that explains a lot of its architectural shortcomings.
Bottom line: a neat cemetery and some other interesting features make for a decent time. Temper your expectations and you just might enjoy yourself.
Size Rating: 5 out of 10
Ornamentation Rating: 6 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 5.5 out of 10 crosses
