Church of the Advocate

George W. South Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church of the Advocate
Location18th & Diamond Sts.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates39°59′9″N 75°9′49″W / 39.98583°N 75.16361°W / 39.98583; -75.16361
Built1887
ArchitectCharles Marquedant Burns; Arthur H. Williams & Sons
Architectural styleGothic Revival
NRHP reference No.80003620[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 8, 1980
Designated NHLJune 19, 1996
Designated PHMCJuly 29, 1999[2]

The George W. South Memorial Church of the Advocate, also known as the George W. South Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church, is a historic church at 18th and Diamond Street in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

History

The church was built from 1887 to 1897 as a memorial to the merchant and civil leader George W. South. The church was designed by Charles Marquedant Burns (1838 – 1922), a prominent church architect in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was intended to serve as the Episcopal Cathedral of Philadelphia.[3]

On July 29, 1974, the church was the site of the ordination of the Philadelphia Eleven, the first women priests in the Episcopal Church.[4][5]

The church contains a series of 14 murals[6] depicting vignettes of the Black experience in America, including slavery, emancipation, and scenes from the Civil Rights Movement. They were painted between 1973 and 1976 by Philadelphia artist Walter Edmonds[7] and Richard J. Watson.[8] The murals can be found primarily in the transepts and aisles of the church. Father Washington commissioned the murals in response to black parishioners who felt that the African-American experience was not validated in the church despite the fact that the majority of the community was African-American. Each of the fourteen murals was painted by either Edmonds or Watson, each of whom has a very different artistic style. Edmonds's[9] pieces are mostly in fiery shades of orange and yellow and depict the violent oppression of blacks in America. Watson,[10] on the other hand, used a cooler palette in his paintings to express sorrow in the black experience and the importance of memorializing this history as a way to find courage for the future.

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 19, 1996. The landmark designation cited the church as one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture, with a complete set of stained glass windows provided by the English firm Clayton & Bell. It also cited the church's ongoing role in activism for African American civil rights.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  3. ^ Listing Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine as a National Historic Landmark at the National Park Service.
  4. ^ "Woman in the News: Advocate of Equality, Barbara C. Harris", New York Times, by Peter Steinfels, September 26, 1988.
  5. ^ Charles V. Willie, "The Priesthood of All Believers: Sermon preached on the occasion of a Service of Ordination..., July 29, 1974" in Betty Bone Schiess, Why Me Lord?: One Woman's Ordination to the Priesthood with Commentary and Complaint (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2003) pp. 145-152
  6. ^ "Paintings on the Bible and the Black Experience". Archived from the original on February 4, 2002. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  7. ^ Naedele, Walter F. (June 18, 2011). "Philadelphia artist Walter Edmonds, 73". Philadelphia Inquirer - Obituaries. The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  8. ^ Valerio, William R (2015). We speak : black artists in Philadelphia, 1920s–1970s. Philadelphia: Woodmere Art Museum. p. 227. ISBN 9781888008005.
  9. ^ "Painting Eleven". Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  10. ^ "Painting Ten". Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
  11. ^ "NHL nomination for Church of the Advocate". National Park Service. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
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