The First Unitarian Church 1818 Baltimore, Maryland

The First Unitarian Church built 1817-1818 Baltimore, Maryland designed by French architect Maximilian Godefroy 

My favorite building in Baltimore is the Neoclassical The First Unitarian Church built in Baltimore, Maryland in 1818. The building was the first church erected for Unitarians in the United States. Completed in 1818, the church is a brick building covered in scored stucco and is a domed cube. It is fronted with a Tuscan column portico or narthex with three round arches. The church, originally called the First Independent Church of Baltimore, is the oldest building continuously used by a Unitarian congregation in America. The building was designed by French architect Maximilian Godefroy working in Baltimore and was begone in 1817. 

The First Unitarian Church built 1817-1818 Baltimore, Maryland designed by French architect Maximilian Godefroy 

Poor acoustics under the original central dome led to an 1893 interior renovation, in which architect Joseph Evans Sperry added abarrel vault under the dome. The church features stained glass from the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York city. The pipe organ was donated by Enoch Pratt and is a Niemann instrument.
A terracotta  relief in the building's pediment of the Angel of truth was executed by Antonio Cappellano a Italian sculptor working in Washington D.C. on the Capital building, who had executed the Battle Monument also designed by Maximilian Godefroy. Deterioration caused it to be replaced with a replica in 1954.On a scroll is a Greek inscription that translates "To the One God." 

The First Unitarian Church built 1817-1818 Baltimore, Maryland designed by French architect Maximilian Godefroy

 

The building is significant in the history of Unitarianism as the site of William Ellery Channing's Baltimore Sermon of May 5, 1819, which laid the foundation for the Unitarian denomination. That defined the newly emerging Unitarian denomination in America. The occasion was the ordination of a minister, and Channing took the opportunity to explain the beliefs of the church. He began,

 

"I have thought it my duty to lay before you, as clearly as I can, some of the distinguishing opinions of that class of Christians in our country, who are known to sympathize with this religious society."
He went on to explain why the doctrine of the Trinity should be rejected, which is the main defining characteristic of Unitarians. The Unitarians joined with the Universalists in 1961, forming today's Unitarian Universalist denomination.

 

Throughout history, the church has been committed to community service and social justice.  During the Civil War, the Reverend John F.W. Ware worked with abolitionists and tended Union soldiers.  He later organized and directed The Baltimore Association for the Moral and Intellectual Improvement of Colored People, which established more than 200 schools for freed slaves.  In 1874, the congregation organized Baltimore's first vocational school for teenagers.

 

In the late 1800s, the congregation oversaw a major reconstruction of the sanctuary.  A barrel-valuted ceiling was added, along with a Niemann organ,  a Tiffany mosaic and six Tiffany, stained-glass windows.  Baltimore philathropist and congregation member, Enoch Pratt donated the Parish Hall in 1879,  It was built from the bricks of the house demolished on Mulberry Street to make way for the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
The exterior church building has remained mostly unchanged since its 1817-1818 construction.


The First Unitarian Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 11, 1972 and designated a National Historic Landmark on February 20, 1972. It is within the Baltimore National Heritage Area. It is included in the Cathedral Hill Historic District and the Baltimore National Heritage Area.

French architect Maximilian Godefroy also design the Battle Monument

 

The Battle Monument, located in Battle Monument Park on Calvert Street between Fayette and Lexington Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, commemorates the Battle of Baltimore and honors those who died during the month of September 1814 during the War of 1812. The monument lies in the middle of the street and is between the two Baltimore City Circuit Courthouses that are located on the opposite sides of Calvert Street.
The monument, designed by Baltimore architect Maximilian Godefroy and built in 1815-25, is 39 feet tall and is unusual in having an Egyptian Revival cenotaph base which suggests a tomb.

The monument is depicted on the seal of the City of Baltimore that was adopted in 1827 and the city's flag adopted in the early 20th century.

The eighteen layers of the marble base represent the eighteen states that made up the United States at the time of the war. A griffin is at each corner of the base.

The monument is topped by a marble statue by Antonio Capellano of a female figure representing Baltimore that wears a crown of victory and holds in one hand a laurel wreath and in the other a ship's rudder.

 A griffin is at each corner of the base.

 The column, carved as a Roman fasces, is bound with cords listing the names of soldiers who died during the battle, while the names of officers who died are at the top.

The eighteen layers of the marble base represent the eighteen states that made up the United States at the time of the war. A griffin is at each corner of the base. 

Maximilian Godefroy (c. 1770- c.1847) by Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860) Date: c. 1815 

Maximilian Godefroy (1765 – circa 1838) was a French-American architect. Godefroy was born in France and educated as a civil engineer. During the French Revolution he fought on the Royalist side. Later, as an anti-Bonaparte activist, he was imprisoned in the fortress of Bellegarde, then released about 1805 and allowed to come to the United States, settling in Baltimore, Maryland, where he became an instructor in art and architecture at St. Mary's College, the Sulpician Seminary.

 

By 1808 Godefroy had married Eliza Crawford Anderson, a member of one of Baltimore's prominent families. While in Baltimore, he designed a number of structures including the St. Mary's Seminary Chapel, the Battle Monument, and the Unitarian Church. Other projects included the Commercial and Farmers Bank (demolished), as well as gates and monuments in the Westminster churchyard, the sally port at Fort McHenry, as well as submitting designs for the Washington Monument.

 

Godefroy became acquainted with Benjamin Henry Latrobe, and married Eliza Crawford Anderson, whose father, Dr. John Crawford, was one of the founders of the College of Medicine of Maryland. However, while working with Latrobe on the Baltimore Merchant's Exchange (demolished to make way for the U.S. Custom House in 1904), Godefroy and Latrobe fell out. Latrobe was to have contributed the overall design, while Godefroy was to execute the drawings and supervise construction. Godefroy changed the plans to reflect his own ideas.

 

After parting company, Latrobe continued to credit Godefroy with the design for the front of the Exchange, and did not compete with him for the First Unitarian Church. Godefroy, however, blamed Latrobe for his inability to obtain work in Baltimore. Godefroy left Baltimore in 1819 for England, his daughter dying of yellow fever before the ship had cleared Chesapeake Bay. He worked for a while in London, then moved on to France. Prior to his death in 1840 he designed a new wing to the Palais de Justice and the Préfecture, both at Laval, Mayenne, France.

The First Unitarian Church built 1817-1818 Baltimore, Maryland designed by French architect Maximilian Godefroy 

A terracotta  relief in the building's pediment of the Angel of truth was executed by Antonio Cappellano a Italian sculptor working in Washington D.C. on the Capital building, who had executed the Battle Monument also designed by Maximilian Godefroy. Deterioration caused it to be replaced with a replica in 1954.On a scroll is a Greek inscription that translates "To the One God." 

Original door under the portico 

The doors of the church was originality painted to look like bronze  

A terracotta  relief in the building's pediment of the Angel of truth was executed by Antonio Cappellano a Italian sculptor working in Washington D.C. on the Capital building, who had executed the Battle Monument also designed by Maximilian Godefroy. Deterioration caused it to be replaced with a replica in 1954.On a scroll is a Greek inscription that translates "To the One God." 

The portico's round arches

Portrait of American theologian William Ellery Channing, 1811, by American painter Washington Allston (1779–1843). Oil on canvas. 

One of my paintings of the church 

I did a series of painting of the tree front doors of the church 

This is how the original interior looked like 

The church in the 1930's 

The original central 1817-18 dome painted with Trompe-l'œil panels and rosettes is still atop the 1893 barrel vault. Some times the church opens it up to the public 

The original central 1817-18 dome painted with Trompe-l'œil panels and rosettes is still atop the 1893 barrel vault. Some times the church opens it up to the public 

The original central 1817-18 dome painted with Trompe-l'œil panels and rosettes is still atop the 1893 barrel vault. Some times the church opens it up to the public 

The pipe organ was donated by Enoch Pratt and is a Niemann instrument.

Poor acoustics under the original central dome led to an 1893 interior renovation, in which architect Joseph Evans Sperry added abarrel vault under the dome. The church features stained glass from the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York city.

The glass mosaic of the Last Supper over the alter as well as the stained glass windows are from the studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York.

Enoch Pratt donated the Parish Hall in 1879,  It was built from the bricks of the house demolished on Mulberry Street to make way for the Enoch Pratt Free Library.

Harry Payson

 

The founder of First Unitarian Church, Payson was President of Union Bank.  He also served nine terms as a city councilman, was chairman of the Commission of the Susquehanna Canal and was Judge fot he Orphan's Court.  A member of the "Committee of Vigilance and Safety," he lobbied for federal money and supplied materials to Fort McHenry to defend the city against British attack.  The committee was credited for the failure of the British Navy's attack on Fort McHenry and North Point, thus saving Baltimore from invasion during the War of 1812 and turning the tide to a U.S. victory over England.

Jared Sparks

 

The first minister of First Unitarian, Sparks was also Chaplain of the U.S. House of representatives and served as advisor to then ewly founded and struggling Unitarian congregation in Washington.  He founded and edited Unitarian Miscellany and Christian Monitor, the first avowedly Unitarian periodical in the U.S.

The French architect Maximilian Godefroy of the church also design the church furniture made of carved birds-eye maple now painted circa 1818.

The original marble and cast iron alter ca, 1818

Detail of the original marble alter 

The French architect Maximilian Godefroy of the church also design the church alter and furniture made of carved birds-eye maple now painted circa 1818.

Original alter chair design by French architect Maximilian Godefroy

Original alter settee design by French architect Maximilian Godefroy

Original alter chair design by French architect Maximilian Godefroy

The glass mosaic of the Last Supper over the alter is from the studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York.

Stained glass windows are from the studios of Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York.

A original Neoclassical plaster ceiling medallion

 

The marble urn light is a part of the original alter furniture 

Upstairs behind the organ is the pews for the slaves untouched and in it's original 1818 condition

Upstairs behind the organ is the pews for the slaves untouched and in it's original 1818 condition

Upstairs behind the organ is the pews for the slaves untouched and in it's original 1818 condition

Upstairs behind the organ is the pews for the slaves untouched and in it's original 1818 condition

terracotta study head of the "Angel of Truth" 

Plaster study for the "Angel of Truth" 

A terracotta  relief in the building's pediment of the Angel of truth was executed by Antonio Cappellano a Italian sculptor working in Washington D.C. on the Capital building, who had executed the Battle Monument also designed by Maximilian Godefroy. Deterioration caused it to be replaced with a replica in 1954.On a scroll is a Greek inscription that translates "To the One God." 

Detail of the terracotta  relief in the building's pediment of the Angel of truth was executed by Antonio Cappellano a Italian sculptor working in Washington D.C. on the Capital building, who had executed the Battle Monument also designed by Maximilian Godefroy. Deterioration caused it to be replaced with a replica in 1954.On a scroll is a Greek inscription that translates "To the One God."