St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Elkins Park, Pennsylvania)

{{short description|Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = St. Paul's Episcopal Church

| nrhp_type =

| image = St Pauls Elkins Park PA.jpg

| caption = St. Paul's Episcopal Church, November 2011

| location = Old York and Ashbourne Rds., Elkins Park, Pennsylvania

| coordinates = {{coord|40|4|16|N|75|7|59|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = Philadelphia

| built = 1861

| architect = Cooke, Jay; Trumbauer, Horace

| architecture = Gothic

| added = April 22, 1982

| area = {{convert|3.5|acre}}

| refnum = 82003800{{NRISref|2009a}}

| designated_other1_name = Pennsylvania state historical marker

| designated_other1_abbr = PHMC

| designated_other1_date = October 01, 1992{{cite web | title = PHMC Historical Markers | work =Historical Marker Database | publisher = Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission | url =http://search.pahistoricalmarkers.com/ | access-date = December 30, 2013}}

| designated_other1_link = List of Pennsylvania state historical markers

| designated_other1_color = navy

| designated_other1_textcolor = #ffc94b

}}

St. Paul's Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church at Old York and Ashbourne Roads in Elkins Park, Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was originally built in 1861, and is a gray stone church in the Gothic style. The church was conceived by noted financier Jay Cooke (1821–1905), along with John W. Thomas, J.F. Peniston and William C. Houston.{{Cite journal|date=1899-09-02|title=St. Paul's Church, Cheltenham|journal=The Church Standard|pages=540–541}} Its size was doubled with an expansion in 1870, and a 60-foot-tall tower added. A transept was added in 1883, and the two-story parish hall wing in 1891. Architect Horace Trumbauer (1868–1938) made some refinements to the church during the 1897 to 1924 period. Eleanor Elkins Widener funded renovations to the church as a memorial to her husband George Dunton Widener who died during the sinking of the Titanic.{{cite book |last1=Geller |first1=Judith B. |title=Titanic - Women and Children First |date=1998 |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York |isbn=0-393-04666-4 |page=83 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Titanic/dfkiBcUMXw8C |access-date=15 February 2025}} The main sanctuary of the church features 13 stained glass windows from Tiffany studios.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stpaulselkinspark.org/tiffany-windows/|title=Tiffany Windows – St. Paul's Elkins Park|website=www.stpaulselkinspark.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-18}}

Also on the property is the {{frac|2|1|2}}-story rectory built in 1868 and a stable. Jay Cooke Memorial hall (1906), and sexton's cottage (1923), were designed by architects Churchman & Thomas{{Citation|title=AIA/T-Square Yearbook 1905|pages=79}} and Thomas, Martin & Kirkpatrick,{{Cite journal|date=1922-07-12|title=Sexton's Cottage|journal=Philadelphia Real Estate Record and Builder's Guide|volume=37|pages=441|url=http://philageohistory.org/rdic-images/view-book-uv.cfm/PhilaBuildersGuide}} respectively. (See Walter Horstmann Thomas.) Adjacent to the church is a cemetery laid out in 1879 and expanded in 1905. Located in the cemetery is the Jay Cooke mausoleum.{{cite web| url = https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce/SelectWelcome.asp| title = National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania| publisher = CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System| format = Searchable database| access-date = 2012-05-26| archive-date = 2007-07-21| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070721014609/https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce/SelectWelcome.asp| url-status = dead}} Note: This includes {{cite web| url = {{NRHP-PA|H000573_01H.pdf}}| title = National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: St. Paul's Episcopal Church| access-date = 2012-05-24| author = Frederick Platt| format = PDF| date = July 1980}}

St. Paul's Episcopal Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Saint Paul's remains an active parish.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stpaulselkinspark.org/|title=St. Paul's Elkins Park|website=www.stpaulselkinspark.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-18}} The church's sister organization, The Friends of St. Paul's Elkins Park, hosts a popular concert series featuring music from several genres including classical, jazz, and gospel.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stpaulsfriends.org/concertsevents/|title=Friends of St. Paul's » Concerts/Events|website=www.stpaulsfriends.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-05-18}}