St. Mark's Episcopal Church - St. Louis, MO - Art Deco - Art Nouveau on Waymarking.com

The first church of any denomination in the coal mining area of Oak Hill in south St. Louis was the Episcopal Church of the Holy Innocents, established in 1871. Although the parish flourished for several decades, the coal diggings had all disappeared by the end of the first quarter of the twentieth century, and Holy Innocents parish went into a long period of decline, finally closing its doors in 1935. Around the same time the Diocese of Missouri established a new mission in south St. Louis, St. Andrew's, to serve the newly developed area of St. Louis Hills. The members of St. Andrew's Mission, which also incorporated members from Mount Calvary Church, which had closed at an earlier date, at first met to worship in the nearby Nottingham school.

In 1938, however, Bishop William Scarlett of Missouri resolved to use a $75,000 gift in memory of Mrs. Anna Watkins to build a new church for the St. Andrew's mission and absorbing the remaining members from the former Holy Innocents parish. The church, dedicated to St. Mark and located in a quiet street in the leafy St. Louis Hills neighborhood, shows how imaginative architects can create an outstanding design within a very limited budget. At Bishop Scarlett's insistence, the planning of the new church was left to the artists responsible, and there were no committees to stifle their creativity. The firm of architects responsible was a partnership of Frederick Dunn (1905-1984) and Charles Nagel (1899-1992). The dedication of the new church took place on January 15, 1939, and though only sixty years old, the building is already a historic landmark.

4714 Clifton Ave.
St. Louis, Missouri 63109

~ from St. Mark's website

See Tom Krepcio's April 9, 2005 blog about St. Mark's windows (visit link)


Architect: Nagel & Dunn
A 1939 church, located on the southwest side of the city, that was 20 years ahead of its time; it was completed on an astonishingly small budget of $75,000. The serene, spare interior features stunning Art Deco stained glass windows, whose purple and blue hues are not adequately captured by my meager camera.
~ from Built St. Louis website (visit link)

Style: Art Deco Structure Type: Other Architect: Frederick Dunn and Charles Nagel Date Built: dedicated January 15, 1939 Supporting references: Not listed

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