First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant is a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

church in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

History

The church was founded in February 1929 when two Presbyterian churches in Erie, PA, Park and Central Presbyterian Churches, merged. The merger was approved by the Presbytery of Lake Erie on February 8, 1929 and construction was begun on a new church building along West Sixth Street in downtown Erie. The cornerstone was laid on June 16, 1929 and the new church building was dedicated on Sunday, December 14, 1930.

Art and architecture

The Church was designed in a Gothic Revival style by the architecture firm of Corbusier and Foster in Cleveland, Ohio. The base of the exterior walls of the church, as well as the trim are

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. The floor tiles were designed and made by Henry Chapman Mercer of the

Moravian Pottery and Tile Works The Moravian Pottery & Tile Works (MPTW) is a history museum located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the County of Bucks, and operated by TileWorks of Bucks County, a 501c3 non-profit organization. The museum was individually listed on ...

Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton, north of Center City, Philadelphia, southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 ...

. The church and adjacent school building have stained glass windows by Connick Studios of Boston, D'Ascenzo Studios of Philadelphia, and

Tiffany Studios Tiffany may refer to: People * Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name * Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname Known mononymously as "Tiffany": * Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress know ...

of New York. The church's organ was built by

Skinner Organ Company Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts was an American builder of a large number of pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner (1866–1 ...

.''Fifty and Forward, The Church of the Covenant United Presbyterian, 1930-1980.''

References

{{coord, 42, 07, 36.7, N, 80, 05, 25.1, W, type:landmark_region:US-PA, display=title 1929 establishments in Pennsylvania Presbyterian churches in Pennsylvania Gothic Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Churches completed in 1930 Churches in Erie, Pennsylvania