St. George's Chapel (New York City, New York)

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Romanesque/Byzantine/Gothic chapel completed in 1912. Designed by M. L & H. G. Emery, it is clad in brownstone. Stylistically, it is very much in keeping with St. George's Church which it adjoins, although it is more lavish in detail and more Byzantine in character. The light-colored brownstone facade has a richly decorated entrance doorway. The striking double bronze doors (atop semi-circular stairs) with handsome foliate strap hinges are recessed behind flanking Corinthian pilasters and paired columns. The shafts of the columns are carved with spiral fluting and zigzag patterns. Between the columns and the arched tympanum above is a frieze with a simple strigil motif ornament. A relief depicting St. George slaying the dragon fills the tympanum which is framed by several bands of ornamental carving composed of fretwork, paterae, acanthus brackets, and rope and billet moldings. The arch is flanked by panels framed with an egg-and-dart molding.

The dominant feature of the facade is the large tripartite composition above the doorway. Here, the extraordinary variety and exuberance of decorative ornament, including motifs inspired by classical, Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic styles, are organized within a traditional composition consisting of a large central arch flanked by two smaller arches. The central arch encloses a pair of stained glass windows terminating in Gothic trefoils and surmounted by a stone quatrefoil. Beneath the flanking arches are blind niches. The intricate carving of the arches and columns provides an interesting contrast to the smooth brownstone surfaces above and below, and adds a play
of light and shade typical of Byzantine architecture. This middle section of the facade is supported on decorative corbels and protected above by a curved drip molding with saw-tooth edging and carved heads, following the line of the arches below. The whole facade is flanked by slender shafts which terminate in small turrets surmounted by finials. The low gable of the roof has a carved central Greek cross and, repeating the theme of St. George's Church, is defined by an ornamental cornice and a stepped series of deep stylized corbels.