Check out these pictures of our gracious host church for the Mockingbird Conference. This church has changed a lot over the years.
Here is what the interior looked like 50 years ago, which is very similar to how it looks today:
This is the rear of the nave, also from about 50 years ago, also very similar to today:
And here is the church interior circa 75 years ago, which is also similar except for the huge organ in the gallery (given in memory of Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Morgan):
Now, this next one is my favorite, the interior from 100 years ago. Notice the big, big thing that’s different?
You guessed it…that’s the pulpit front and center. Notice also the stone pillars anchoring much larger galleries. I’m guessing these had to come out when the pulpit was moved.
One more view, 100 years ago looking toward the rear:
Yes, that is a third iteration of the gallery organ! This original gallery organ was the first non-cased organ in the country.
Saint George’s has had such a rich history over the last 150+ years in their current location. It’s fascinating to see how much has changed…and yet how much remains the same.
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COMMENTS
5 responses to “The Beauty of Saint George’s Church”
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I believe St. George's was the last prominent big-city Episcopal church to retain its central pulpit into the 20th century. I think it was moved just before the First World War.
The majority of Episcopal parishes had central pulpits until after the Civil War. Even the original interior of St. Thomas', Fifth Avenue (where Judy Garland and Robert Walker solemnized their City Hall marriage in the movies) had the pulpit in the center of the east wall, over the altar.
Paul, the picture with the central pulpit is dated 1909. I think it's a fascinating photo, radically different from today's arrangement.
What you can also see in the photos is the rich geometric frescoes. I was sneaking around in the gallery above the rear of the nave and found one place where the wall paper was peeling, and some of the original paint was there. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. I wondered if time simply took its course, and repair was too expensive, so they just covered it all up. Thanks for this, Jeff. I love church architecture!
Really lovely, thanks for going to the trouble to post these Jeff.
I don't know about you but I love the fact the Cross is front and center now and the pulpit is almost pushed aside as if to reveal the main focus – like John the Baptist pointing to Christ. Thanks for sharing these shots – its a truly beautiful church.