St. James Episcopal Church - Baton Rouge, LA
N 30° 26.900 W 091° 11.200
15R E 674114 N 3369862
Fine well kept brick Gothic church building. Located in downtown Baton Rouge. Building was closed, but easily accessible and to photograph. Easy parking in the many lots in area.
Waymark Code: WM50KF
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 10/21/2008
Views: 13
Church was closed on my visit. Large complex of buildings, takes up a whole block. There is a school, parish building etc located in the area. Very clean building. Lots of construction in the general area but the site itself is easy to access. I found out alot about the church doing research I found
here.
St. James Episcopal Church is a late Gothic Revival idiom structure with an aisled cruciform
plan. Constructed in 1889-1895, it was designed by Col. W. L. Stevens, architect. It contains 5,913
square feet including the basement.
The building's foundation is of corbelled brick piers with 6" x 8" cypress sills and 2" x 12"
floor joists. The exterior masonry walls are 1'7" thick, red brick, laid in common bond, The structure
was recently repointed with red mortar. Interior walls are wood lathe and plaster above a 3'6" high
arcaded cypress wainscot. The interior is supported by arch-braced trusses, the largest in the nave
spanning approximately 35'.
The Congregation of St. James Church was founded in 1844. An “Episcopal
Congregation of Baton Rouge" had been granted a 10-year charter in 1820, but the
charter was not renewed. "St. James Church of East Baton Rouge" was officially
reorganized shortly after a visit from Bishop Leonidas Polk (the Fighting Bishop
of the Confederate Army) in January of 1843.
The original frame church was constructed in 1845-1846 and the present structure
in 1889-1895. The existing church is the second oldest Gothic Revival church in the City of Baton
Rouge. Because of its side tower and substantial proportions, it is closer in feeling to the
ecclesiastical, mid-century Gothic Revival style than the older church, St. Joseph's, whose massing
is symmetrical and whose proportions are thin and papery. The church is also a local landmark.
The architect was Col. W. L. Stevens; the contractor was W. H. Miller. Stevens was later prominent
in the Spanish-American War and served as the state's Adjutant-General.
The Congregation of St. James was, for 98 years, the only established Episcopal parish in
the city.