Here at Kuhn we have an amazing opportunity and an even bigger and more amazing responsibilty right now. We are currently renovating the third floor of Christ Church Cathedral, the Episcopal Cathedral in downtown St. Louis.
Curious about it's history? Here's a little taste:
Designed by Leopold Eidlitz of New York, the Cathedral is an example of 14th century Early English Gothic and is cruciform in design. The Cathedral is well-known for its stained glass windows and Aeolian-Skinner organ, but its crowning glory is its reredos.
Rising 35 feet behind the main altar is the elegantly carved reredos, sculpted from cream-colored stone excavated from quarries (www.beerquarrycaves.fsnet.co.uk) near the town of Beer, close to the city of Exeter, England. The reredos, carved between 1909 and 1911 and shipped to the Cathedral in 230 cases, consists of 52 religious figures and biblical scenes in stone.
The bells in the Cathedral tower were cast by the same German foundry that did the bells for the German Pavilion at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The largest bell weighs 5,732 pounds, making it the biggest in the state of Missouri.
The Cathedral was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior in 1994. The designation is given to buildings, sites and objects deemed to be of exceptional significance in U.S. history and culture.
Do you see the huge responsiblity we have? Luckily we are the perfect company to work on a historic building such as Christ Church Cathedral. We have over 25 years experience working on old buildings and homes in and around St. Louis.
As I mentioned, we are renovating their third floor. It currently houses the offices for Episcopal City Mission, an organization that provides chaplains of all denominations to youth detention centers in St. Louis. Mary Jane Kuhn sits on their board. The rest of the floor was basically empty offices that will now house the offices of the Bishop. Here is his future office in the middle of construction:
Not much to look at yet, but stay tuned and we will keep you updated on it's progress! See? Frank and one of our great sub contractors are hard at work as we speak!
And just because I think it's so interesting, here's the early history of the Cathedral...
Four years before St. Louis was chartered as a city in 1823, Christ Church was being organized by 26 people who assembled for a service in a building that previously had been used as a public hall for dances and a courtroom. That service on October 24, 1819 was the first for a Episcopal-Anglican congregation west of the Mississippi River.
A few days later, on November 1, 1819, they formed a parish. Among those signers of its Articles of Association were explorer William Clark (of Lewis and Clark), soon-to-be Missouri's first governor Alexander McNair (who beat out Clark for the job), future U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton and St. Louis' first mayor William Carr Lane. The fledgling congregation eventually raised enough money to build a church at Third and Chestnut Streets and it opened its doors in 1829. Seven years later the growing congregation began construction of a larger parish church at Fifth and Chestnut Streets.
Although the Civil War divided the congregation and delayed construction of the new building, the new and current church finally opened in 1867. It was dedicated on Christmas Day of that year and designated the Cathedral of the Diocese of Missouri in 1888.
Stop by and see this amazing Cathedral and our progress!
written by: Jodie Allen
[note... history taken from the website of Christ Church Cathedral]
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