Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1912-09-19

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churches in Wash
angton. In fact man may stand IN
any quarter Of the city and see from
Q street corner two or three worship
ing places. but few Of them are struc',
lures of imposing appearance.
Many capitals Of the world are just
| ly famed for their churches and for
little else, so unless there Is an uplift
in this direction Washington will have
to depend on It's other glories for dis
tinction. This deficiency, however, Is
keenly felt. and even now there Is
movement afoot among all sects to
beautify Washington churches.
The only churches In Washington
at present worthy Of mention are
those built during the detade before
and the decade after the Revolution.
Probably the most exquisite survival
of these earlier periods of church
building is old st. Johns Episcopal
Church, which stands just across La
fayette square from the White House.
This is. indeed, remarkable quarter
from an architectural point of view.
The historic square is lined with nota-
BILE structures. among them the Com
modore Decatur house, the John Hay
house and the Arlington Hotel. Old
ST. Johns itself Is classic in type and
follows closely the dictates of lingo
Jonea. Its graceful po-tico. Of the Ro-
man I":!c nrGn". faces Sixteenth
street. vh!iu its lenc:h extends along
th' sf;;;rT0. Is !!c!'ry Is the most typ
tc2i feature Ghout the edince, It's clas-
sic lines. D"raM!ded to spire, calling
to mind the best OF London steeples.
There are other churches In Wash
ingtoD belonging to the same period
but smaller and less noteworthy. One
Of 50 years later, however. Is worthy
mentioning, IN that It Is remarkable
example OF church architecture, al
though built during @ period Of de-
preston 1t Is the Cathedral Of 81.
Dominic. Catholic church IN South
west Washington, little frequented
section Of the city. This church Is the
most perfect Gothic building in the
city, and while not as ornate as Con-
tinental Gothic cathedrals, 1t is Of a
high plane Of excellence. It Is not
among the churches shown to sight
seers who come to Washington. how
ever, and is seldom seen save by
those who frequent It
Another of the churches built In the
"black walnut" period Is Grace Church
in Georgetown, which Is contiguous to
Washington and now a part Of H.
Grace Church is OF red brick and
gothic. its chief merit lies in o re-
markable belfry, although the entire
structure Is unusually graceful.
Two notable churches, however, are
now being erected by the advocates Of
better church architecture in Wash.
the head of Washington's list of &C.
clesiastical edifices Is the Cathedral OF
IS. Peter and Paul. at Mount st. al.
ban, which overlooks the entire city
This cathedral, which Is just rising
above It's foundations, will be Of the
most elaborate gothic design. 1t will
resemble York Minister. an Old World
church OF fame, pointing two towers
high above maze Of flying buttresses
and carved images of saints. The
chapel of the Holy Nativity, part of
the cathedral has already been ded
Gated, but the main cathedral will be
nearly as long in building as the Ca
thedral of st. John the Divine in New
York.
Another notable Washington church
now under construction is the First
Church Of Christ, Scientist, nearing
completion, on Columbia Heights, q
fashionable residence section of the
city. This church Is classic in design
and Is built on the lines of the Pan
theon. 1t will be the most imposing
church of its type in Washington
Equally as fine will be the Temple Of
the Scottish Rite, but that structure
will not be completed for months and
probably years to come.
This general movement toward bet
ter church architecture will, in the
next decade, put Washington on
plane with other cities Of Its size as
far as excellence of such edi1ces is
conc erned