St. Luke's Church - Baltimore MD
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 39° 17.490 W 076° 38.292
18S E 358725 N 4350404
The largest Episcopal church In Baltimore at its completion, St. Luke's is a landmark, in the early nineteenth century American Gothic Revival. On November 1, 1851, the cornerstone was laid.
Waymark Code: WM14AR5
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 05/31/2021
Views: 1
St. Luke's Church is on the National Register of Historic Places. Their NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM states:
"The largest Episcopal church In Baltimore at its completion, St. Luke's is a landmark, in the early nineteenth century American Gothic Revival. The extant church is the work of J. W. Priest, an important American architect.
St. Luke's Church was completed too late to have been an innovational church in the ante-bellum phase of the Gothic Revival. Its importance lies in the fact that it embodies many of the architectural characteristics of the ecclesiological movement and as the work of J. W. Priest.
Historically, the construction of St. Luke's is of interest because so many architects were involved in it: Robert Gary Long, Jr., John Notman, Frank Wills, the firm of Niernsee and Neilson, and finally, J. W. Priest.
St. Luke's Parish was founded in 1847. Although St. Luke's Church was not completely finished for twenty years, the vestry began immediately to plan a church. The first architect they contacted was Robert Gary Long, Jr., who had designed two Gothic Revival churches in Baltimore, the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church and St. Alphonsus' Church.
In 1851, still without an architect, St. Luke's Parish corresponded with Frank Wills, another Gothic Revival architect. When the negotiations with Wills fell through, the vestry selected the Baltimore firm of Niernsee and Neilson.
On November 1, 1851, the cornerstone was laid. The first services were held in the uncompleted church in November 1853. Soon thereafter structural flaws in the building and an insufficient heating system led the rector, Reverend Charles W. Rankin, to contact J. W. Priest.
Arriving in 1857, Priest found St. Luke's awkwardly designed and structurally inadequate. He corrected the deficiencies, repairing the plastering, the insulation, the floors and the roof. He lengthened the nave which had been badly proportioned He added the chancel and the chancel aisles, as well as the south porch at the east end of the nave. He also advocated a gallery at the west end. The present appearance of St. Luke's is due to Priest's work on the church."
Active Church: Yes
School on property: No
Date Built: 11/01/1851
Website: [Web Link]
Service Times: Not listed
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