Monumental Church is a former Episcopal church at 1224 E. Broad Street between N. 12th and College streets in Richmond,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Designed by architect Robert Mills, it is one of America's earliest and most distinctive

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

churches. It is 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 ...

, has been designated as a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

and is located in the Court End historic district. Monumental Church was built between 1812 and 1814 to commemorate the 72 people who died on the site in the December 26, 1811, Richmond Theatre fire. The building consists of two parts: a

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

and a church. The crypt is located beneath the sanctuary and contains the remains of those who died in the fire. The church is octagonal in form; its walls are constructed with brick faced with

Aquia Creek sandstone Aquia Creek sandstone is a brown to light-gray freestone used extensively in building construction in Washington, D.C. in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Quarried at Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia, the stone was valuable for ...

and a stucco finish.

History

This site was developed for the first Academy of Fine Arts and Sciences in America, or "The Theatre Square." Chevalier Quesnay de Beaurepaire, a French officer in the Revolutionary army, had developed the idea for the academy but the plan was abandoned due to the war. In 1786 Richmond's first theatre was built on this site, described as having the appearance of a "barn-like building." The Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788 was held in this building beginning on June 3 for three weeks "after first convening in the temporary capitol at Cary and Fourteenth streets." Among the many individuals in attendance were

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

, Edmund Pendleton, George Wythe, George Nicholas, Edmund Randolph,

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence fr ...

and

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. May 18, 1736une 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Virginia Conventions, Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty or give m ...

. This building was destroyed by fire in 1802 and the Richmond Theatre replaced it. In 1811, the Richmond Theatre fire resulted in the deaths of 72 people. Chief Justice

commissioned a church to replace it as a monument, and it was designed by architect Robert Mills, the first American-born architect. He was the architect of the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...

s in both Baltimore and Washington, DC. He also later designed many buildings in South Carolina as superintendent of public buildings. Mills "had a reputation for being particularly concerned with fireproofing." Later he designed Charleston's Fireproof Building. On Nov. 20, 1817, Monumental Church established the first Sunday School program in Richmond. Famous parishioners included Chief Justice John Marshall, whose family occupied pew No. 23;

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

, whose foster parents the Allans were members and occupied pew No. 80; the Marquis de Lafayette when he visited Richmond in 1824, William Mayo of Powhatan, and the Chamberlayne family. Three Richmond congregations were formed from Monumental, including: St. James's in 1831, St. Paul's in 1845, and All Saints in 1888. As the center of population in the city dispersed to the suburbs, Monumental Church was judged too costly to operate. It was deconsecrated in 1965 and taken over by the Medical College of Virginia for classroom space. The College transferred the building to the Historic Richmond Foundation, an affiliate of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.

Architecture

The design of the Monumental Church generated a certain amount of controversy between the two architects,

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was a British-American Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical architect who immigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in ...

and Robert Mills, who were consulted independently by the Committee. Latrobe had submitted his designs initially and believed that his plan was approved by the Committee. However, the Committee approved the plan submitted by Robert Mills, which combined the monument with the church. This resulted in an awkward situation, as Mills had worked as Latrobe's assistant earlier in his career. Latrobe refused to submit any alternate plan when requested by the Committee, as he felt slighted. However, he commended their decision and wrote glowingly of the Mills's capability to fulfill the assignment. Following this, additional letters were exchanged between Latrobe and Mills, which were not very cordial at times. Latrobe's last letter of July 22, 1812 addressed to Mills ended the controversy. Mill's plan consisted of "an emphatic 'monumental porch'"—thirty-two feet square as Latrobe had proposed—grafted onto an auditorium-style church. The porch, which Mills called the "vestibule, dominates the south elevation, and fronts upon the street. The body of the church is an octagon, one facet of which abuts the rear of the monumental porch. Within the church, directly across from the doorway, the pulpit stands within an acoustically conceived apse, which balances the porch. This bay projects from the northern face of the octagon and was intended to serve as the base of the steeple (never executed). To the east and west project corresponding bays; these contain stairways to the balcony that circumscribes the interior, except the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

on the north face of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. A low saucer dome caps the nave, and its center is pierced by a round monitor or

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

."Bryan, p. 104. The monumental porch adopted "shadow, void and contrasting forms" to register a lasting impression. The design also adopted large forms with least ornamentation with the brown colour of the Aquia stone sandstone accentuating the solemnity of the structure. The placement of the large piers in the porch brought about a shaded interior. The

Doric columns The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

with fluted drums also projected out into the light. The overall effect of the porch was of a geometrically proportioned and balanced structure.Bryan, p. 105 The design has not been universally lauded, in a 1939 review of Protestant church design in America, ''

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. Its editor in chief is Josephine Minutillo. ''The Record'', as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important ...

'' described it as "Greek Revival runs afoul of the Renaissance dome tradition, with serious compromises in both the plan and the fenestration."Walter A. Taylor, AIA, "A Survey: Protestant Church Design in America," ''Architectural Record'', Vol. 86, No. 1, pp. 60-69, July 1939.

Present use

In 2004 Monumental Church underwent a significant renovation. A monument to the 72 people killed in the fire was replaced by an exact replica. The bodies of the victims remain in a brick crypt below the church. The documentary ''Saving Grace-Resurrecting American History'', written and directed by writer/director Eric Futterman, follows the process of recreating the monument.

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

scanners were used to record its measurements. The data was sent by Internet to Ireland, where stonecutters used both high-tech computer equipment and old-fashioned stone-cutting created a new 7,000-pound monument. In 2006, regular tours began. These are operated in cooperation with the Valentine Richmond History Center's "Court End Passport". The building is open on occasion for other private functions.

References

External links

*
Monumental Church, 1224 East Broad Street, Richmond, Independent City, VA
57 photos, 6 color transparencies, 21 measured drawings, 16 data pages, and 4 photo caption pages at

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

Historic Richmond Foundation

Valentine Richmond History Center
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Churches completed in 1814 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Churches in Richmond, Virginia Episcopal churches in Virginia Greek Revival church buildings in Virginia National Historic Landmarks in Virginia Robert Mills buildings Religious museums in Virginia Museums in Richmond, Virginia 19th-century Episcopal church buildings National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, Virginia Benjamin Henry Latrobe buildings and structures

History

Architecture

Present use

See also

References

External links