Cathedral of Hope (Pittsburgh)

The Cathedral of Hope is the home of the East Liberty Presbyterian Church in the East Liberty neighborhood of the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The current building is the fifth church building to occupy the site; the first was in 1819.

This cathedral in the Gothic style was built between 1932 and 1935 with a donation from Richard Beatty Mellon (1858–1933) as a memorial to his parents, Thomas Mellon (1813–1908) and Sarah Jane Negley, who were active members of the church. The principal architect was Ralph Adams Cram (1863–1942). Among the distinctions of the Cathedral of Hope are the representation of distinctly Reformed themes in stained glass and statuary. Notably, one stained glass window contains an image of Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, an ardent Presbyterian.

The pipe organ in the sanctuary was also a gift of Richard Mellon, and it was built as Opus # 884 by the Boston firm of Æolian-Skinner. The organ was very large for its time, although not unprecedented for buildings the size of East Liberty Presbyterian Church. The organ comprised eight divisions, including a six-rank string organ. The Indianapolis organ building firm of Goulding & Wood, Inc. completed an extensive renovation of the organ, completing the work in October 2007. The instrument now contains 120 ranks, with restoration work still to be done on the two antiphonal divisions in the rear gallery.

In addition to the main sanctuary, the cathedral's campus includes an architecturally similar chapel, a garth used for church services during summer months, extensive administrative offices, a large music rehearsal suite, a basketball court, and a duck-pin bowling alley. The congregation sponsors a men's shelter, providing temporary shelter, meals, and job training.

The Hope Academy of the Arts is another innovative mission of the church focused on providing arts education in an after-school setting for primarily inner city children.

References

*cite book | author=Toker, Franklin | title=Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait | location=Pittsburgh | publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press | year=1986, 1994 | id=ISBN 0-8229-5434-6

External links

* [http://www.cathedralofhope.org/ East Liberty Presbyterian Church]