Albright United Methodist Church

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Albright United Methodist Church
Albright United Methodist Church Pittsburgh.jpg
The church in 2018
Albright United Methodist Church is located in Pittsburgh
Albright United Methodist Church
Location of the Albright United Methodist Church in Pittsburgh
Location486 S. Graham St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Coordinates40°27′24.74″N 79°56′12.88″W / 40.4568722°N 79.9369111°W / 40.4568722; -79.9369111Coordinates: 40°27′24.74″N 79°56′12.88″W / 40.4568722°N 79.9369111°W / 40.4568722; -79.9369111
AreaBloomfield, Shadyside, and Friendship
Built/founded1905-06
ArchitectChancey W. Hodgdon
Governing body/ownerWestern Pennsylvania Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church

The Albright United Methodist Church is located at 486 S. Graham Street at the nexus of the Bloomfield, Shadyside, and Friendship neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The church was designed by architect Chancey W. Hodgdon in an Eclectic, Richardson Romanesque style with prominent elements of Gothic Revival, and was built in 1905-1906.[1]

History[]

The congregation for the Albright United Methodist Church was formed in 1843, and was formally organized in 1845 as the Zion Church of Pittsburgh of the Evangelical Association.[2] The congregation originally worshiped in numerous temporary locations in downtown Pittsburgh. The first two permanent locations also were located in Downtown in the 1850s. However, with the development of the Pennsylvania Railroad lines in Pittsburgh many residents decided to relocate to the eastern suburbs, and the churches began to leave to follow their congregations. The Zion Evangelical Church decided in 1905 to move eastward as well. In August of that year, the church purchased a lot to build on.[3] The construction for the church was finished on July 1, 1906, and service began shortly after.[4] Since then the church has been renamed twice, first as the First Evangelical United Brethren Church, and then as the Albright United Methodist Church, which remains the name today.

The church was nominated in September 2015 to become a City Historic Landmark by Preservation Pittsburgh. The nomination was opposed by the owner, the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, who intended to sell the church to a developer who would raze the property. After the Pittsburgh City Council failed to take action on the nomination within 120 days, it was considered to have been approved by default and the church was listed as a landmark in city documents.[5] However, that decision was overturned in June 2018 by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania based on a provision in the city code requiring a two-thirds majority vote by City Council to grant a historic designation against the property owner's wishes.[6] The church was re-nominated in July 2018, but the measure failed to pass.[7] As of 2020 the church is still standing and a local organization, Friends of Albright, continues to advocate for it.[8]

Architecture[]

Although relatively unknown, the architect Chancey W. Hodgdon’s canon of work is Pittsburgh-based and samples design elements from many architectural periods. The church is one of Hodgdon’s most well-known works and is designed in an Eclectic style with samples of Richardson Romanesque traditions. The church’s strong massing, rough-hewn rusticated stone, recessed doorways, large arches, and short columns are all reminiscent of this architectural styling.[9] These elements are mixed with a medieval crenelation at the roofline and stained glass to include elements of the Gothic Revival style in the building. The design is a small complex of two structures, the church and the parsonage, connected by a single story hyphen. The building is made of masonry and wood, while the church is a roughhewn Cleveland bluestone.[10] The stained glass windows are traced back to S.S. Marshall and Bros, one of the oldest art glass studios in the country that continued to make pressed flint and lime glass. The church’s 39 stained glass windows makes it home to the largest collection of S.S. Marshall Studio stained glass in Pittsburgh.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ E.L. Farren. Plan of the Property Situated in the 20th Ward Pittsburgh Pa., Surveyed for the Trustees of the Zion Church. 22 September 1905.
  2. ^ Historical Sketch of the First Evangelical Church of Pittsburgh, Congregation Files, 1923
  3. ^ Deed of Sale from Sue E. Holmes, Executrix of the Last Will and Testament of John G. Holmes to Zion Church of Pittsburgh of the Evangelical Association, 11 August 1905 (recorded 6 September 1905), Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Vol. 1421, Page 68, Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds Office, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  4. ^ “New Zion Church is Finished and Will Be Dedicated for Divine Service July 1.” Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph. 6 June 1906.
  5. ^ "Properties that are Designated as City Landmarks or are Located in City Designated Historic Districts" (PDF). Historic Review Commission of Pittsburgh. June 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  6. ^ Bauder, Bob (October 24, 2018). "Council kills bill to protect historic Pittsburgh church". Trib Live. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  7. ^ "Bill No. 2018-0754". City of Pittsburgh. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  8. ^ "About". Friends of Albright. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  9. ^ Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. “Romanesque Revival Style: 1840-1900.” ,http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/late_victorian_period/2389/romanesque_revival _style/294764> Accessed: 9 August 2015.
  10. ^ Charles S. Smith. Charles S. Smith to Building Committee Zion Church of the Evangelical Association, 9 August 1905. Letter.
  11. ^ "Preservation Success! Albright is Pittsburgh's Newest Historic Landmark". Preservation Pittsburgh. September 26, 2016.
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