First Presbyterian Church - Topeka, KS
N 39° 02.953 W 095° 40.759
15S E 268136 N 4325655
The beautiful First Presbyterian Church in downtown Topeka, Kansas, was built in 1884.
Waymark Code: WMCNB5
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 09/24/2011
Views: 7
"The First Presbyterian Church in Topeka, Kansas was organized in 1859. The present (1884) building is very handsome, with hand carved furnishings which were installed in 1935. The best known features of the building are the 100 year old Tiffany windows. Louis Tiffany visited Topeka and planned the windows which were installed in 1911 at a cost of $14,000.
The Favrile windows display an iridescent quality with hues and accents changing with the light inside or out. Louis Tiffany patented Favrile glass in 1880. The trade name "Favrile" was derived from the French word, fabrile, meaning handcrafted. It is glass made without paint, enamels or stains. The colors are created by additives such as cobalt, gold and copper."
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"Architect George Ropes was responsible for the design of the third church building. James Cuthbert was the builder of this structure, situated directly across Harrison Street from another of the lasting edifices he had built in the Topeka area - the west wing of the Statehouse. The first service held at 817 Harrison was a prayer meeting Thursday, April 9, 1885 with 140 attending in the ladies' parlor. Then, on Sunday, April 12, the new building hosted Sunday School and formal dedication services; attendance was estimated between 1,200 to 1,500. (Note that April 12 was a blustery spring day in which the Presbyterian congregation availed itself of a new furnace. The heating device added its own distinguished touch to the service when the furnace belched enough smoke to cause a fire to be extinguished!) One of the first orders of business for the new 817
Harrison congregation was to declare that this temple be used solely for religious purposes. To this date, the early trust has not been violated.
When the church was erected in 1884, it supported a wooden steeple 160 feet high. The structure had small gables on each of its four sides; an architectural design termed a "convoluted" spire. Mrs. T. C. (Inez) Moore once stated that the tower was seriously damaged by lightning in 1888. James Cuthbert, builder of the church, recruited Horace C. Horner from St. John, Kansas to repair the steeple. Then, in 1910, lightning once again damaged the tower, and it was permanently removed by the Horner brothers.
A notable memorial contribution during these founding years was Mrs. Jonathan (Josephine B.) Thomas' gift of the sanctuary Tiffany windows, which were dedicated October 1, 1911. The purchase price is recorded as $14,000. Louis C. Tiffany, designer of the memorial windows, designed the decorative Fravile glass in Europe and later made it popular in the United States."
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