First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia
The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia is a Unitarian church building in Philadelphia in the US state of Pennsylvania .
history
As early as 1796, twenty intellectuals from Philadelphia founded the First Unitarian Society under the influence of Joseph Priestley . Priestley was also the first preacher in the ward. After 1825, William Henry Furness served in the congregation, who spoke out against slavery in his sermons . The first church building designed by Robert Mills on the model of English Unitarian churches opened in 1813, but soon proved to be too small. A second Doric style building designed by William Stricklandwas opened in 1828 and served the community as a meeting place until 1885. Between 1883 and 1886 the current building was finally built in the neo-Romanesque style by Frank Furness , the son of William Henry Furness. The well-known church historian Henry Charles Lea contributed to the financing of the building . The building is characterized among other things by a characteristic hammer beam ceiling . Later an organ from Casavant Frères with three manuals was installed. Another room with a stage (the Griffin Hall) is built in below the worship room. In the rear and upper parts of the building there are community and meeting rooms. Well-known members of the community were and are, among others, Frances Harper and Kevin Bacon .
literature
- Anatole Browde: Faith Under Siege: A History of Unitarian Theology , New York 2009, page 48/49, ISBN 9781440111624
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 39 ° 57 '9.6 " N , 75 ° 10' 34.9" W.