Church of the Incarnation

 Episcopal Church, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, Gothic revival (architecture), 1860s construction

Gothic-revival Episcopal church completed in 1864. Designed by Emlen T. Littell, it is known for its stained glass windows by William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and John La Farge. The oak communion rail was carved by Daniel Chester French, sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial.

The cornerstone of the new church was laid on March 8, 1864 by Bishop Horatio Potter. Fire broke out in the church building on March 24, 1882, and sections of the roof, south and west windows, and east end were destroyed, although the walls and tower were not significantly damaged. The contract for rebuilding was given to prominent architects D. & J. Jardine, who follows Littell's design but lengthened the nave and added a transept to the north side to contain additional pews and an upper gallery.

Dominated by a striking corner tower, the church is faced in vermiculated brownstone with lighter contrasting sandstone coping and trim. The shallow brownstone entrance porch has a steep slate-covered roof with an interesting gable. The underside of the gable is carved with bellflowers. Two openings with modified chamfered arches resting on colonnettes with carved leafy capitals flank the central opening with a steep pointed arch that also rests on colonnettes with carved leafy capitals. This arch is outlined by a drip molding terminating in bosses. The end blocks of the chamfered arches are incised with leaf and flower motifs. Handsome wrought-iron grilles with Gothic motifs close the porch openings. Three paneled doors corresponding to the three porch openings are set in the rear wall of the porch and are reached by flights of steps. A low arcade runs above the porch, but most of the gable is filled by a large pointed-arch window with traceried head. Full-height buttresses flank the gable, setting off a wall section to the north of the porch, which contains a very tall slender pointed-arch window with stained glass, and the corner tower to the south.

The tower is supported by a series of buttresses at the corners and is pierced by narrow openings on three levels. A pointed-arch opening, with colonnettes supporting the arch, is reached by a set of steps lined with wrought-iron railings with Gothic motifs.The railings are similar to those enclosing the church site. The opening originally provided an entrance directly into the tower, but in 1929 it was filled with a stained-glass window and the base of the tower converted to a chapel. The upper level of the tower has a large traceried pointed-arch opening on each side, and each arch is outlined by a drip molding terminating in bosses. The tall crowning broached spire is of brownstone and is pierced by four narrow gabled openings. The spire was not added to the tower until 1896, from the designs of Heins & LaFarge.

The long side of the church facing 35th Street is pierced by a series of tall slender pointed-arch openings with stained glass and flanked by buttresses. The eastern bay contains the entrance that was added by D. & J. Jardine. The projecting gabled enframement of sandstone is filled by a large pointed-arch opening. The impost blocks of the arch rest on carved leafy capitals. The wooden doors are reached by a set of steps lined by wrought-iron railings with Gothic motifs. The the left and above the doorway are pointed-arch windows. The 35th Street side terminates in an intersecting gabled section with three levels of windows. The lower level windows have incised chamfered arches like those of the front porch openings. Above are three rectangular windows and three circular windows all enclosed by a large pointed-arch rising up into the gable.

The steep slate-covered roof over the nave is pierced by a series of gabled dormers on both sides. Each gable contains two windows set beneath a quartrefoil opening. These provide additional light to the nave.

churchoftheincarnation.org‎/
www.cambridge2000.com/tiffany/html/site/1.1.3.html#1.1....