St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Episcopal church building in downtown Tampa, Florida, United States
St. Andrews Episcopal Church is a Mediterranean Revival style building distinguished by a prominent front corner tower topped with a louvered belfry and steep spire rising approximately 120 feet (36 meters). Its restored interior features a cruciform layout with spaces designed to accommodate gatherings, weddings, and various events.
The congregation was established on July 24, 1871, as Tampa's first Episcopal church, worshipping initially in a hospital building at Fort Brooke. In 1877 it bought the block bounded by Marion, Twiggs, Morgan and Madison Streets, and a wood frame church went up there in 1883. The present building was begun in 1904 and finished three years later, reusing the old church's stained glass windows, communion rail and lectern.
The parish was founded on July 24, 1871, the first Episcopal congregation in Tampa, and it later helped establish St. John's and St. Mary's. It belongs to the Tampa Deanery of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida. The 1907 building kept the wooden church's stained glass windows, communion rail and lectern.
The church stands downtown at 505 North Marion Street, at the corner of Marion and Madison Streets; the parish offices are separate, at 509 East Twiggs Street. The six-story Western Union Building, bought by the parish in 1996, is next door at Twiggs and Marion. The building is an active parish, so time a visit around services rather than treating it as a museum.
When the 1907 building went up, the congregation carried over fittings from its 1883 wooden church: the stained glass windows, the communion rail and the lectern. The parish later helped found the Episcopal congregations of St. John's and St. Mary's as Tampa grew. In 1996 it bought the neighbouring 1929 Art Deco Western Union Building for its offices.
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