Grace United Methodist Church (St. Augustine, Florida) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Grace United Methodist Church
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| Location | St. Augustine, Florida |
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| Architect | Carrere and Hastings |
| Architectural style | Spanish Renaissance Revival with Moorish elements |
| NRHP reference No. | 79003132 |
| Added to NRHP | November 29, 1979 |
Grace United Methodist Church is a historic church located in St. Augustine, Florida. A famous American businessman named Henry Morrison Flagler donated this church to the community. It was built very quickly, between 1886 and 1887. This church is important because of its special design and how it helped plan the city. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 1979. You can find it at 8 Carrera Street.
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A New Church for St. Augustine
Henry Flagler wanted to build a big hotel called the Hotel Alcazar. But an older church, Olivet Methodist Episcopal Church, was already on the land he wanted. Flagler made a deal with the church leaders. He offered them a new piece of land and promised to pay for a brand new church building. The church leaders agreed to his offer.
Building a Beautiful Church
The new land was behind Flagler's first hotel, the Hotel Ponce de Leon. It was at the corner of Carrera and Cordova Streets. Building the new church and a house for the pastor (called a parsonage) started in 1886. Everything was finished the next year. The very first church service in the new building, named Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, happened on January 1, 1888. It was officially dedicated later that month by Bishop W.F. Mallelieu.
Design and Materials
The church cost about $85,000 to build. The same architects who designed the Hotel Ponce de Leon, John M. Carrere and Thomas Hastings, also designed Grace Church. They were from the Carrere and Hastings architecture firm in New York. The church was built using poured concrete, which was not a common building material back then. This concrete also had shell and sand mixed in. This helped the church stand strong against the weather in coastal Florida.
The church was designed in a Spanish Renaissance Revival style. This style matched Flagler's other buildings in St. Augustine. You can see red Spanish tiles and terracotta designs on the doors and the church tower. These details are typical of the Spanish Renaissance style. Inside the main worship area, called the sanctuary, there were beautiful Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows. These were just like the ones in the Hotel Ponce de Leon.
Changes Over Time
In 1947, a house across the street was bought to be the new parsonage for the church's pastor. The old parsonage building was then used for Sunday school classes and other church activities. The inside of the church was updated in the late 1950s. During this time, the walls and wood were redone. The area where the choir sings and the altar is located was also remodeled. New lights were put in, and a heating and air conditioning system was added. New church benches, called pews, were also installed. Even with all these changes, the original Tiffany windows remained.
In 2011, Grace United Methodist Church joined with another Methodist church in St. Augustine called Christ Church.
