chapel architecture

Card Memorial Chapel // 1898

Buildings of New England2 Comments

Cemetery chapels are fairly uncommon, but always a must-see when exploring a new place. These small charming buildings help bridge the gap between life and death and are often adorned with a permanence not seen in our lifetimes. This is the Card Memorial Chapel in the Spring Brook Cemetery of Mansfield, Massachusetts. The chapel was erected in 1898 as a memorial to 31-year-old Mary Lewis Card, who died in 1896. Mary’s parents, Simon W. Card and Mary J. Card, founded S.W. Card Manufacturing Company in 1874. The Mansfield-based company did very well and manufactured tap and die tools locally, shipping them all over the country. Before her abrupt death, Mary Lewis Card was set to marry architect Charles Eastman, who is credited with designing the memorial to his late-fiance. The chapel borrows from the Romanesque and Victorian Gothic styles, and is constructed of red brick laid with a tinted mortar atop a foundation of Quincy granite. The various roof sections are sheathed in green slate. The building displays a cross plan with a central tower rising forty-two feet from the ground to the apex, topped by a steeply pitched pyramidal roof. The building was restored years ago and still looks great!

St. John the Evangelist Church // 1885

Buildings of New England3 Comments

One of the most bucolic and beautiful buildings I have ever seen is this church in the Catskills, just outside of Elka Park, NY. Wow I wish New England could claim this one! The St. John the Evangelist Chapel was developed as part of a smaller enclave of summer cottages for rusticators from the Philadelphia-area, which was largely established by Mr. Alexander Hemsley (1834-1904) a chemist from Philadelphia who would later die from anaccidental chemical explosion at his factory. In 1883, Hemsley sold cottage lots to friends and family to erect summer houses in the Catskills and in 1884, decided to develop a lot for an Episcopal summer chapel. In that same year, Hemsley hired his future son-in-law, William Halsey Wood, to design the chapel. The Stick-style Victorian chapel blends the rustic use of natural materials found on the property with an elegant siting and attention to detail, not typically found in rural chapels. The native stone and stylized half-timbering really stood out to me. The church is used still in the summer with regular services on Sundays in July and August.