10 East Mount Vernon Place
Baltimore, MD 21202
410.685.5290
At the corner of Monument and Charles stands the church that
catalyzed the idea for this architectural record. This might surprise those who
are familiar with the area because Baltimore’s 178 ft. Washington Monument, the
first commemorative structured planned for George Washington, literally
overshadows the building. However, the church’s brown and green stone façade
stands out from the monument’s white marble, providing it with enough presence to
catch the eyes of passersby. Built in 1872, it’s possible that the church exterior’s
unique coloration was an intentional attempt to distinguish it from the monument,
whose erection predates it by about sixty years. According to an informational
pamphlet about the building, it was constructed out of six different types of
stone, most notably the green serpentine that gives it its unusual coloring. The
stone was quarried in the Falls Road area of Baltimore County, located a couple
of miles northwest of the Mount Vernon district, and presumably chosen for its geographic
convenience in addition to its distinctive aesthetic qualities.
I visited the church on a Friday in the hopes of catching
one of the tours that they offer. The tours begin next door in the Asbury
House, where the church offices are located. The house was named after Francis
Asbury (1745-1816), who was the first bishop of the Methodist Church in America;
the pulpit from which he preached is still frequently used in services today.
Although the building was named after this Methodist clergyman, it was
originally the residence of Albert Schumacher, a German merchant who immigrated
to Baltimore and built the house in 1850. The church pamphlet describes a
marble fireplace designed for William Henry Reinhart, for whom the Reinhart
School of Sculpture, Maryland Institute was named; the Mary Ruff Brush Library
with a painted ceiling that is a replica of Guido Reni’s “Aurora”; as well as a
spiral staircase, “one of the jewels of Baltimore architecture.”
Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of these details of the
Asbury House. After I knocked on the door, a member of the custodial staff
greeted me. I explained that I was here for a tour, and he informed me that
there wasn’t anyone to give me one at the time but that I could take a look
around by myself if I wanted. I was disappointed with this turn of events, but
took him up on the offer to explore by myself. Out of ignorance of the Asbury
House’s historic and aesthetic qualities, I limited myself to wandering through
the church building. The custodian followed me as I looked around the church,
and introduced himself as Norman. He was friendly and informative, and gave me
the pamphlet from which I’ve been citing information.
The interior of the church is pretty, but significantly less
interesting than its exterior. It features a vaulted ceiling with carved,
wooden ribs, and a clerestory of small, stained-glass windows. White, narrow
columns support the ceiling and the second-story aisles. A small sconce hangs
on the wall at the end of every couple of pews, which were hand-carved out of
American walnut. Additionally, larger lanterns extend outwards from the top of
the columns. In between the sconces are stained glass windows that span
two-stories. They rise in the shape of pointed arches with two narrower pointed
arches outlined within them. The motifs in the stained glass are variations of vegetal
designs.
The pulpit stands on the wall opposite the main entrance. If
you walk through the main doors instead of through the side door that
connects the church to the Asbury House, you are confronted with several rows
of pews leading up to the pulpit, behind which are three large pointed arches.
The center one features a smaller pointed arch within it and bears a stained
glass Connick cross. The arches on either side are smaller but more intricately
carved, and play host to a smattering of organ pipes. The M.P. Moller Organ and
the rest of its 3,827 pipes are located on an architectural outcropping extending
from the main entrance wall. Behind it is a stained glass rose window modeled
after the one in Notre Dame.
I’ll end this entry with one last historical tidbit: the
church sits on the site of Charles Howard’s mansion. Charles Howard was the
husband of Elizabeth Phoebe Key, the daughter of Francis Scott Key. Key, who
penned The Star Spangled Banner after being held captive by the British as they
attacked Baltimore’s Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, died in his
daughter’s home. The church is now a highlighted location on the National
Historic Register and serves as a clear point of Baltimore pride.
*S/o to Wikipedia for the fun facts about the Washington
Monument, as well as Norman, the custodian who let me in to the church and
showed me around.
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