St. Mark's Episcopal Church (West Orange, New Jersey) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Mark's Episcopal Church
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The former St. Mark's Episcopal Church as seen from Main Street in October 2013.
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 Location in Essex County, New Jersey
Location in New Jersey
Location in the United States
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| Location | 13 Main Street, West Orange, New Jersey |
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| Area | 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) |
| Built | 1828 |
| Architect | Upjohn, Richard M. |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 77000868 |
| Added to NRHP | September 22, 1977 |
St. Mark's Episcopal Church is a historic church building in West Orange, New Jersey. It is located at 13 Main Street. This old church is known for its beautiful Gothic Revival architecture style. Experts have called it an amazing example of this type of building.
The church was once home to an Episcopal group. Later, a Methodist group used the building. Sadly, a big fire on January 1, 2016, caused a lot of damage to the inside and outside of the church.
Contents
History of St. Mark's Church
The first church group, called the Episcopal congregation, started in 1828. They came from Trinity Parish in Newark, New Jersey. In just a few decades, this group grew to be the biggest and richest Episcopal church in the area.
Building the Church
Work on the main church building began in 1828. It was built using brownstone. A large addition was finished between 1860 and 1861. This included the tall steeple. The architect Richard Upjohn is believed to have designed this part.
St. Mark's and Education
St. Mark's Church was important for education in West Orange.
- It started the first elementary school in West Orange in 1865. This school building was later destroyed by a fire in 1926.
- The church also ran the first high school in West Orange. The first class of nine students graduated in 1893.
- A new high school building opened in 1898. This building also burned down on February 27, 1913.
Changes Over Time
The church group did very well until the 1960s. After that, fewer people attended, and it became harder to pay for the building's upkeep.
In 1977, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is a special historic site. However, the church and its nearby cemetery still needed a lot of repairs.
In 2004, the Episcopal Diocese of Newark rented the church to another religious group. This group left in 2009 because it was too expensive to take care of the property. During an earthquake in 2011, the cross on top of the church fell off. The Diocese sold the building to another religious group in early 2015.
The 2016 Fire
On January 1, 2016, a fire started at the church around 5 a.m. It took three hours to put out the flames. Luckily, no one was hurt in the historic building.
As of January 1, 2017, the church is being fully restored. Architects Zachary Gidich and David Sepulveda are working on bringing it back to its original beauty.
See also
