Eliot Unitarian Church Steeple - Kirkwood, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 34.854 W 090° 24.232
15S E 726141 N 4273466
Building was built in 1859 by the Grace Episcopal Church, sold to Eliot Unitarian Church in 1961...
Waymark Code: WM11GD2
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 10/20/2019
Views: 2
County of church: St. Louis County
Locatio of church: N. Taylor St. & E. Argonne St., Kirkwood
Built: 1859
Original Owner: Grace Episcopal Church
Current Owner: Eliot Unitarian Church
Architect: Robert S. Mitchell
Architectural Style: English Gothic Revival
The existing steeple was erected in 1986, as part of an upgrade, mostly interior. The original topping of the steeple was a cross...and you can see, that was replaced with this weathervane of the world. The center of the weathervane does move. The new tiles are metal. This church, originally build by the Episcopal Church, overlooks a very active farmers market, which is both permanent and year round.
"Eliot Chapel is a small, English Gothic Revival church situated on a rise looking
west over a new outdoor market and the Kirkwood Railroad Station(barely visible on the
right in photo #1). Surrounded by streets, it is on the western edge of a residential
area. The town of Kirkwood, founded as a stop along the Missouri Pacific Railroad
in 1854, is a suburban community. The immediate area of the chapel has the central
business district and frame residences built between 1850 and 1910.
"Built in 1859 at a cost of $12,000, the original building was a 29 ft. x 70 ft.
rectangle of roughcut native limestone laid in a random pattern on a stone foundation. A square tower and steeple reaching 83 ft.
at the southwest corner are original. They can be seen in photo #3. Robert S. Mitchell was
the architect, ... " NRHP Nomination Form [link below]
"The original building was 29 feet by 70 feet, with a square tower and steeple reaching 83 feet. Stone transepts on the north and south were added in 1883 and 1888, each at the cost of $1,000.
"The building is significant as one of the few intact examples of architecture by Robert S. Mitchell (who also designed the Old Courthouse on the banks of the Mississippi River, and the original Mercantile Library), and a remembrance to the formative days of one of St. Louis' first "commuting" communities.
"Despite development of a religious education wing in 1962, a fire in 1977, rehabilitation of the sanctuary, roof, and stonework, as well as the erection of a new spire in 1986, the picturesque beauty and old world charm of the original structure remains." ~ Eliot Unitarian Church