{"nrhp_refnum":"79002329","name":"St. Stephen's Episcopal Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"19 S. 10th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.95083745800008,"lon":-75.15648779499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic Revival Episcopal church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built in 1822-23 with a granite front wall and flanking octagonal towers. The body is a one-story rectangular nave with a gable roof, with a transept, vestry room and three-story parish house added in 1879-1880.","why_significant":"The church is regarded as an early and important example of Gothic Revival design in Philadelphia and is described as the oldest extant Gothic building in the city. It is significant for showing the early development of Gothic Revival architecture by William Strickland, who is otherwise known for Greek Revival buildings. The nomination notes the design's awkward attempt at Gothic forms, which makes it a useful record of early experiments in the style.","narrative":"Built between May 1822 and February 1823 in Philadelphia, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is an early Gothic Revival building designed by William Strickland, an architect better known for Greek Revival work such as the Second Bank of the United States and the Merchant's Exchange. Its granite front wall and two octagonal towers, rising about 86 feet, frame a nave of roughly 61 by 102 feet under a gable roof. Pointed-arch windows, clustered gallery columns and a flat ribbed ceiling show Strickland working with unfamiliar Gothic forms. The church is regarded as the oldest surviving Gothic building in Philadelphia and as one of the few remaining examples of Strickland's experiments with the style. Its awkward proportions, with a low nave and no strong vertical thrust, document how Gothic Revival design was still being understood in America. Later additions in 1879 and 1880 included a transept, a vestry room and a parish house.","period_of_significance":"1822-1823","architect_builder":"William Strickland (architect)","architectural_style":"Early Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:28.746401-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002329.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002329/f1829c28e3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002329/f1829c28e3-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Stephen%27s_Episcopal_Church,_Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania_-_20110606.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones.</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Stephen%27s_Episcopal_Church,_Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania_-_20110606.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84003531","name":"East Center City Commercial Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/east-center-city-commercial-historic-district-84003531/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997376","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen%27s_Episcopal_Church_(Philadelphia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7591758"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/st-stephens-episcopal-church-79002329/"}