St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Duval Street recently received a $250,000 grant to help restore its iconic facade, including the bell tower, which has been silent due to structural problems.
“The congregation hopes to ‘bring back the bells,’ which cannot be rung until the masonry has been secured,” said Elliot Carter, spokesperson for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “Our grant will specifically be used to restore the south wall, which is the most urgent of restoration priorities.”
The church at the corner of Duval and Eaton streets was completed in 1919.
“Designed in the Gothic Revival style, it was constructed with the tropical climate of Key West in mind,” Carter said. “The altar faces east to channel ocean breeze through pivoting stained-glass windows, creating a shady and cool interior. The original concrete was a mixture of beach sand, saltwater, limestone aggregate, and cement. It is likely the only concrete church building of this age and style in the United States.”
The grant comes from the National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which awarded grants to 16 “significant faith communities” throughout the country.
“The only initiative of its kind in the United States, the National Fund for Sacred Places is a highly competitive program that supports faith communities that have buildings of historical significance and architectural character, and that play an essential role in meeting the larger spiritual, social and economic needs of the communities they serve,” states a press release from the National Trust for Historic Preservation:
This year’s grantees represent important houses of worship in the country. With these grants, the National Fund recognizes their contributions and seeks to support their efforts.
“This year was the most competitive yet for the grants, and members of the new cohort stood out for their commitment to using their historic religious properties as civic assets,” said Bob Jaeger, president of Partners for Sacred Places. “We are excited to collaborate with the National Trust in serving faith leaders who are working hard to ensure that their buildings are preserved, fully used and able to serve their communities over the long term.”
“We’re honored to support the preservation of these 16 places of worship that hold so many stories of American history, architecture and religious expression,” said Jay Clemens, interim president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
This year’s grant recipients:
All Souls Unitarian Church – Washington, D.C.
Alrasool Islamic Center – Taylorsville, Utah
Breakers Covenant Church International – Detroit
Church of the Holy Apostles – New York
Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist – New York
Faith Congregational Church – Hartford, Connecticut
First Bryan Baptist Church – Savannah, Georgia
First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia
St. Adalbert Catholic Church – South Bend, Indiana
St. Francis de Sales Oratory – St. Louis
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church – Baltimore
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – Key West
St. Peter’s/San Pedro Episcopal Church – Salem, Massachusetts
United Parish in Brookline – Brookline, Massachusetts
Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo – Buffalo, New York
Vang Lutheran Church – Dennison, Minnesota
More information is at fundforsacredplaces.org.
