Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Gothic Revival church in downtown Colorado Springs, United States
Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church comprises a 1926 Gothic Revival sanctuary, a 1895 chapel now serving as parish hall, a bell tower, and a Tudor Revival educational wing added in two phases between 1949 and 1955. The complex occupies a lot at North Tejon and Monument streets, with the sanctuary designed by Boston firm Frohman, Robb and Little.
Grace Episcopal Church formed in 1872, the first Episcopal congregation in Colorado Springs, on land donated by city founder William Jackson Palmer. In 1893 members objecting to high church practices split off as St. Stephen's, which built a chapel on North Tejon Street in 1895. The two reunited in 1923 and hired Boston firm Frohman, Robb and Little to design the 500-seat Gothic Revival sanctuary, completed in 1926 and consecrated in 1929.
In 1928 local philanthropist Alice Bemis Taylor donated the church organ on the condition that a set number of public concerts be held each year, and she funded an endowment for its upkeep and the organist's salary. That gift underlies the concert life of the sanctuary. The congregation also founded the Colorado Springs branch of the American Red Cross and, with Grace Church, the Epiphany Mission in 1908, the area's first Black Episcopal church.
The church stands at North Tejon Street and Monument Street, at the north end of downtown Colorado Springs, on the site St. Stephen's moved to in 1895. The sanctuary, parish hall, bell tower and educational wing are grouped on this block, so a visitor can see the 1895 chapel, the 1926 sanctuary and the 1949-1955 wing in one walk. It remains an active Episcopal congregation, so access is limited during services and events.
The 1928 organ was a gift from philanthropist Alice Bemis Taylor, who made the donation on condition that the church hold public concerts each year. She also set up an endowment covering the organ's upkeep and the organist's salary.
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