First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia

Infobox_nrhp | name =First Unitarian Church
nrhp_type =


caption =
location= 2121 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
lat_degrees = 39
lat_minutes = 57
lat_seconds = 8.67
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 75
long_minutes = 10
long_seconds = 36.8
long_direction = W
locmapin = Pennsylvania
area =
built =1882
architect= Frank Furness
architecture= Gothic, Other
added = May 27, 1971
governing_body = Private
refnum=71000724cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia is a Unitarian Universalist congregation located at 2125 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On June 12, 1796, twenty of Philadelphia's intellectual leaders formed the First Unitarian Society of Philadelphia, becoming the first congregation in the country to proclaim itself "Unitarian". The founders were directed and encouraged by the Unitarian minister Joseph Priestley. The small but growing congregation was lay-led until 1825, when William Henry Furness was persuaded to serve as the first minister at the age of 22, where he served for 50 years. Over time, Furness became one of the few abolitionist ministers in the city.

Church Architecture

Frank Furness, the architect of The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and son of the Church's first minister, designed the church building. Begun in 1883, dedicated in 1885, and completed in 1886, the sanctuary features a hammer-beam ceiling, painted rust red and stenciled with gold-leaf daffodils, which is complemented by blue walls. The church's stained glass windows are by Louis Tiffany & Co. and John La Farge. Later additions include a concert-grade Casavant pipe organ with 3 manuals and 50 ranks. In addition to the sanctuary, the building also contains a basement level housing Griffin Hall, which includes a stage and commercial-size kitchen. The rear portion of the building contains the Parish Room for meetings, and a smaller chapel. The mezzanine and 3rd floors contain a variety of offices, meeting rooms, storage, and day care facilities. The church Furness designed is the congregation's third home since its establishment.

Notable Members

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, the first woman of African descent to have her writings published in the United States, was a member of First Church from 1870 until her death in 1911. She is best known for her fiction and poetry, but was also a political activist and lecturer who promoted, civil rights, temperance, and women's rights.

Notable Events

When Martin Luther King Jr. was a seminary student in nearby Chester, he attended a lecture about Mohandas K. Gandhi that inspired his later non-violent protests for civil rights. This lecture is reputed to have taken place at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia.

In April 2006, the church officially became a Welcoming Congregation to the Bisexual, Transgender, Lesbian, and Gay community.

Ministers

Punk and Indie Rock Scene

Since the mid-90s, the church's basement rec room, known colloquially as "The Church" or simply "First Unitarian" by show goers, has been a popular venue for small-scale independent music concerts in the city. The concerts have featured mostly punk and indie rock artists in the past but have expanded to include other genres as well.

References