Grace Church (Providence, Rhode Island)

Grace Church is an historic Episcopal church at 300 Westminster Street[2] at Mathewson Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1845-46 and was designed by Richard Upjohn in the Gothic Revival style.

Grace Church
(2017)
Grace Church (Providence, Rhode Island) is located in Rhode Island
Grace Church (Providence, Rhode Island)
Grace Church (Providence, Rhode Island) is located in the United States
Grace Church (Providence, Rhode Island)
LocationProvidence, Rhode Island
Coordinates41°49′18″N 71°24′50″W
Built1845
ArchitectUpjohn, Richard; Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson
Architectural styleGothic Revival
Part ofDowntown Providence Historic District (ID84001967)
NRHP reference No.72000042 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 19, 1972
Designated CPFebruary 10, 1984

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and is part of the Downtown Providence Historic District.

Description
Grace Church
1886 engraving
2007 view
The Cemetery
Interior

Church

The church building was designed by architect Richard Upjohn and built in 1845–46, when the area had a much more residential character. It is a relatively simple expression of Gothic Revival architecture, and is notable as the first building in which Upjohn used asymmetry in a church's massing.[3] In 1912, Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson added a parish house[4] which connects with the church through several narrow, twisting stairwells and passages.[5] The parish house was remodeled and enlarged in 1950 by Harkness & Geddes.[4]

Cemetery

The Grace Church cemetery is a triangular parcel of land located about a mile southwest of the church in the Trinity Square Historic District.[6] The church purchased four acres here in 1834, and doubled its size in 1843.[6] A caretaker's cottage was built 1859-1860 in the Gothic Revival style.[6] The cottage, part of the Providence Landmark District, was restored several times: in 1982, 2008, and again in 2010.[6] The cemetery is a frequent target of vandalism, with many toppled and broken gravestones.[6]

History

By 1829, the population of Providence was spreading from the east side of the Providence River to the west.[7] 25 parishioners of the St. John's Episcopal Church on Providence's East Side built a small church on the site of the old Providence Theater on the west side.[7] By 1835 the congregation grew to 260, and by 1844, the building was becoming too small and unsafe.[7] Richard Upjohn, the foremost architect of his time, was hired to design a new building on the same site. The new (current) building was completed in 1846.[7]

Grace Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[1]

By the early 21st Century, the church was badly in need of repair, suffering from crumbling stonework and leaky stained glass windows.[5] The closing of the Cathedral of St. John in 2012 put added pressure on Grace Church.[5] In 2015, a multimillion-dollar restoration project was undertaken to expand and preserve Grace Church.[5] In addition to repairs, the old parish hall will be extended with an accessible glass-enclosed single-story structure, which will allow the church to host suppers and events.[5]

Parishioners

When Grace Church was established, the neighborhood around Westminster Street was more residential and the church was associated with Providence's Protestant elite.[5]

  • Rhode Island Governor Elisha Dyer and his family were members of Grace Church.[8]
  • The First Episcopal Bishop of Rhode Island and Rector of Grace Church, John Prentiss Kewley Henshaw is buried in Grace Church cemetery. He is credited with managing the completion of the existing building on Mathewson Street.
  • Russell Warren, architect, member of the church, and designer of the pre-Upjohn church is buried in Grace Church cemetery in a lot next to the bishops.
  • Rhode Island Governor Nehemiah R. Knight and Senator Albert C. Greene are buried in the church cemetery.
  • Soprano Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones is buried in the church cemetery.[9]

After a long period of declining residential character, the Providence downtown is once again growing in population. The Grace Church congregation is drawing a more diverse congregation, including many from the city's growing Liberian community.[5]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. Church website
  3. "NRHP nomination for Grace Church" (PDF). Rhode Island Preservation. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  4. Woodward, Wm. McKenzie (2003). PPS/AIAri Guide to Providence Architecture. Photography by William Jagger Photography (1st ed.). Providence, Rhode Island: Providence Preservation Society and American Institute of Architects Rhode Island Chapter. p. 95. ISBN 0-9742847-0-X.
  5. Anderson, Patrick (July 12, 2015). "Age and Grace: Episcopal church restoration to open doors in Providence". Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  6. "Grace Church Cemetery (1834, 1843, c. 1860)". 2021 Most Endangered Properties. Providence Preservation Society. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  7. "History of Grace". Grace Church Providence. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  8. Representative Men and Old Families of Rhode Island. Vol. 1. J.H. Beers & Company. 1908. p. 4. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  9. "WOMEN IN HISTORY - SISSIERETTA JONES". Women in History. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
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