Eliot Unitarian Church - Kirkwood, MO - Religious Buildings Multifarious on Waymarking.com

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

My senior class, from high school, meets every first Wednesday for lunch. Lately we have been meeting at Mike Duffy's, here in Kirkwood lately, so I am trying to collect as many waymarking as I can in the area.
I visited this church on one of those Wednesdays.

I included some text about the First Unitarian Church because this church split from that group, and their history begins there. The church sits exactly in the middle between two historic districts.

Text of Sign:

"In 1959, Eliot Chapel voted to become independent of First Church and in 1960, called Webster Kitchell as the first minister. They were again meeting at the Kirkwood YMCA, having come full circle from the original County Forum. In 1961, Grace Episcopal Church sold its historic building to Eliot for $25,000, the value of the land.

"The Religious Education program was still being held at the YMCA down the street. The first priority for the new congregation was space for R.E. The first addition, which added eight classrooms, was completed in 1963. After moving into the R.E. wing, the Eliot Chapel Nursery School was organized by the Women's Alliance in 1963. After almost 40 years, the Eliot Chapel Nursery School continues as one of best preschool programs in the area." ~ Eliot Chapel Church

"The first Unitarian minister in St. Louis was William Greenleaf Eliot. Having just graduated from Harvard Divinity School at the age of 23, Eliot was persuaded to come to the frontier town of St. Louis to organize a Unitarian Church.

"With members of his congregation, Eliot founded Washington University in 1853; he was its first President and third Chancellor. In its early years, the University was maintained almost entirely through the beneficence of Unitarians" ~ First Unitarians Church

"The building was sold to Eliot Unitarian Chapel in 1969. The Unitarian group is an outgrowth of the First Unitarian Church of St. Louis founded by William Greenleaf· Eliot, founder of Washington University in St. Louis, and takes its name from that famous Unitarian." ~ NRHP Nomination Form

"Quaint, and with a quiet but elegant presence, Eliot Chapel's picturesque beauty blends perfectly with its community of Kirkwood, Missouri.

"Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Eliot Chapel was built in 1859 (as Grace Episcopal Church) at a cost of $12,000. An excellent and stunning example of the English Gothic Revival style of architecture, it has authentic English Gothic design throughout the building.

"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