St. Agatha - St. James Church Tour
St. Agatha - St. James Church Tour |
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Our church rises at the south-east corner of 38th and Chestnut Streets in the University City section of West Philadelphia. There's been a Catholic presence at that corner since 1850. The first church, dedicated to St. James the Greater, rose in 1850-1851, a decade before the Civil War and well before the University of Pennsylvania moved to West Philadelphia. The building we are going to visit is the second church at this site. That church of St. James was begun in 1881 and finished in 1887. The architect was Edwin Forrest Durang (1829-1911). Apart from a major alteration to the entrance towers, what you see at 38th and Chestnut is much the same as it appeared nearly 120 years ago. In 1975 our parish received a new name when the church of St. Agatha, in the Powelton Village section of West Philadelphia, was closed and its congregation merged with that of St. James. Our church now bears the dedication of St. Agatha-St. James.
St. Agatha - St. James Church Tour |
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