Christ Church - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 57.041 W 075° 08.620
18S E 487727 N 4422293
Christ Church is a National Historic Landmark and a unique historic site that continues its original function as an Episcopal parish. More than 250,000 tourists visit the church each year.
Waymark Code: WM4K53
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 09/02/2008
Views: 13
The first time I visited this church, I was on my way to a first-to-find for a puzzle cache called Living History. Little did I know that I had stumbled into a very important of cultural history for Philadelphia. The church is amazing to see and the individual pews were remarkable. I was in awe to think of the history this church has seen. It was pretty neat to sit in the same exact place our founding fathers (and mothers) also sat.
Christ Church is an Episcopal church located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1695 by members of the Church of England, who built a small wooden church on the site by the next year. When the congregation outgrew this structure some twenty years later, they decided to erect a new church, the most sumptuous in the colonies. Constructed between 1727 and 1744, Christ Church is considered one of the nation's most beautiful surviving 18th-century structures, a monument to colonial craftsmanship and a handsome example of Georgian architecture. It features a symmetrical, classical façade with arched windows and a simple yet elegant interior with fluted columns and wooden pews. The baptismal font in which William Penn was baptized is still in use at Christ Church; it was sent to Philadelphia in 1697 from All Hallows by the Tower in London.
SOURCE
The Church Website can be found HERE
"37. Christ Church (open 9-5 daily), 2nd St. N. of Market St., completed in 1754, is a fine Georgian Colonial structure of red brick, with balustrades and urns on its roof. John Penn, grandson of William Penn, is buried near the steps of the pulpit. In the front façade is a large Palladian window, over which is a medallion of George II. George and Martha Washington, Robert Morris, Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, and others had pews, all of which remain. The Washington Pew is number 58; the Franklin pew, 70. The church burial ground at 5th and Arch Streets contains the grave of Benjamin Franklin (1796-90), whose funeral was attended by 20,000 persons." --- Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State, 1939; page 276
Christ Church in Philadelphia
20 N. American Street
Philadelphia, PA
19106