View source for Grace Episcopal Church (Madison, Wisconsin)

{{short description|Historic church in Wisconsin, United States}}
{{For|other places of the same name|Grace Episcopal Church (disambiguation){{!}}Grace Episcopal Church}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = Grace Episcopal Church
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = Grace Episcopal Church.jpg
| caption      =
| location     = 6 North Carroll Street, [[Madison, Wisconsin]]
| coordinates  = {{coord|43|4|26|N|89|23|8|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin     = Wisconsin#USA
| built        = 1858
| architect    = [[James Douglas (architect)|James Douglas]]
| architecture = Gothic Revival
| added        = January 1, 1976
| area         = less than one acre
| refnum       = 76000055<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
'''Grace Episcopal Church''' is a [[Gothic Revival]]-style church started in 1855 on the Capitol Square in [[Madison, Wisconsin]] by the oldest congregation in the city. In 1976 the building was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name=nrhp>{{citation|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Grace Episcopal Church|author1=Biruta Erdmann|author2=Richard Cleary|url={{NRHP url|id=76000055}}|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|date=1975-07-22|access-date=2022-06-06}} With {{NRHP url|id=76000055|photos=y|title=one photo}}.</ref>
==History==
In July 1838, when Wisconsin was still a territory and Madison was not yet incorporated as a village, while workers were building the first territorial capitol, [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]] Bishop [[Jackson Kemper]] visited the new community and helped initiate worship services in a "roughly built storefront." In 1846 that congregation formally organized as Grace Church.<ref name=grace>{{cite web|url=http://www.gracechurchmadison.org/|title=Grace Episcopal Church|publisher=Grace Episcopal Church|accessdate=2012-01-25}}</ref>
In 1855 the new congregation began the building in the photo on the west side of the capitol square. They had hired architect [[James Douglas (architect)|James Douglas]] of Milwaukee, and he designed a Gothic Revival-style structure much as you see it today. Its walls were clad in blocks of cream-colored sandstone,<ref name=nrhp/> with the masonry work supervised by James Livesay.<ref name=whs/> The openings had pointed-arches - one of the hallmarks of Gothic Revival. The main entrance was through a large square corner tower with corner [[buttresses]], rising three stages to an octagonal wooden spire, which is topped with a cross. The main building and tower were completed in 1858<ref name=nrhp/> and in February of that year, worship began in the building.<ref name=grace/>
[[File:Plaque outside of Grace Episcopal Church in Madison WI.jpg|thumb|left|Plaque outside of Grace Episcopal Church|257x257px]]
But construction continued, little by little. In 1868 the basement was finished. The spire was added on the tower in 1870. The congregation found the building hard to heat due to the original high ceiling, so in 1885 they inserted a lower ceiling with [[Hammerbeam roof|hammerbeam trusses]] decorated with [[quatrefoils]] and a pointed arch, designed by [[David R. Jones (architect)|David R. Jones]] and Burling & Whitehouse of Chicago. Stained glass windows were added one by one:
* 1887 - the [[Resurrection of Jesus|Resurrection]] Window, made in England, was the first one.
* 1899 - the Baptistry Window, made by [[Louis Comfort Tiffany|Tiffany's]] of New York.
* 1898-99 - the "West window" was given by the Sunday school children, with new glass added in 1958.
* 1925 - other windows were installed, designed by Conrad Schmitt Studios of Milwaukee and made in Munich, Germany.
A second bay window was added in the 1920s and a chapel was added along Carroll Street.<ref name=whs>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI16080|title=Grace Episcopal Church|publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society|access-date=2022-06-07}}</ref>
In 1976 the church was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] for its significance in art, architecture and religion. The nomination summarized: <blockquote>The architectural dignity which characterizes this church is due partly to Douglas' skillful arrangement of its forms, and to the beauty of the memorial windows, where color design and symbolism form an integral part of the total composition. Since 1855 Grace Church has been a center of life in Madison, both for worship and recreation. Its architectural significance and the history of the parish form a significant part of the history of Wisconsin.<ref name=nrhp/></blockquote>
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Grace Episcopal interior & ceiling Madison WI.jpg|Interior
File:Grace Episcopal sanctuary Madison WI.jpg|Sanctuary
File:Grace Episcopal windows Madison WI.jpg|Windows
File:Grace Episcopal Tiffany window Madison WI.jpg|Tiffany window
</gallery>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{commonscat-inline}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Episcopal churches in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Churches completed in 1855]]
[[Category:Churches in Madison, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:19th-century Episcopal church buildings]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Madison, Wisconsin]]