Christ Church Cathedral is a historic church at 955 Main Street in downtown

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. Built in the 1820s to a design by

Ithiel Town Ithiel Town (October 3, 1784 – June 13, 1844) was an American architect and civil engineer. One of the first generation of professional architects in the United States, Town made significant contributions to American architecture in the f ...

, it is one of the earliest known examples of

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

in the United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1983.Contributions to the history of Christ church, Hartford, Volume 1
(Belknap & Warfield, 1895) It is the

cathedral church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the

Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut (also known as The Episcopal Church in Connecticut) is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the entire state of Connecticut. It is one of the nine original dioceses ...

, whose offices are next door at 45 Church Street.

Architecture and history

Christ Church Cathedral stands in downtown Hartford at the southwest corner of Church and Main Streets, surrounded by large-scale commercial buildings. It is a basically rectangular brownstone structure, with a square tower centered at its eastern end. The main facade is divided into three sections by the tower, each of which has a doorway set in a two-story Gothic-arched recess, with a window above. The sides are five bays deep, with buttresses separating Gothic-arched windows, and brownstone finials at intervals along the roof line. The finial details are repeated at the top of the tower, which is surrounded by a low balustrade. Anglican services have been held in Connecticut since 1702. The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut was organized in 1785 by

Samuel Seabury Samuel Seabury (November 30, 1729February 25, 1796) was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He was a leading Loyalis ...

. This church was designed by New Haven architect Ithiel Town, who designed that city's Trinity Church. Primary construction of the edifice lasted from 1827 to 1829, with the tower (designed by Nathaniel Sheldon Wheaton, after traveling to see country churches in England) not completed until 1939. These two Town designs are the oldest known examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the United States. Later additions to the building include alterations designed by Henry Austin, George Keller, Frederick Withers, and

Ralph Adams Cram Ralph Adams Cram (December 16, 1863 – September 22, 1942) was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partn ...

. These were typically done with great care to enhance or complement Town's original design.

References

External links

Christ Church Cathedral web siteEpiscopal Church in Connecticut web siteContributions to the history of Christ church, Hartford, Volume 1
(Belknap & Warfield, 1895) {{Authority control Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Gothic Revival church buildings in Connecticut Churches completed in 1827 Churches in Hartford, Connecticut Tourist attractions in Hartford, Connecticut Episcopal cathedrals in the United States Episcopal church buildings in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Hartford, Connecticut 19th-century Episcopal church buildings 1827 establishments in Connecticut zh:基督教会座堂 (哈特福德)

Architecture and history

See also

References

External links