St. Mark's Episcopal Church (Augusta, Maine)

St. Mark's Episcopal Church was a historic church at 9 Summer Street in Augusta, Maine, just west of downtown. The congregation, founded in 1840, occupied an 1886 Gothic Revival stone building designed by Richard M. Upjohn and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 for its architecture. The congregation moved out in 2015.

St. Mark's Episcopal Church
The church in 2013
Location9 Summer St., Augusta, Maine
Coordinates44°18′59″N 69°46′43″W
Area0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built1886 (1886)
ArchitectRichard M. Upjohn
Architectural styleGothic
NRHP reference No.84001379[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 19, 1984

History
Postcard view of the church, c. 1900

The congregation was established in 1840, and first occupied a small wooden church that located just north of the current site of the Lithgow Library. The present building was built for the congregation in 1886 to a design by architect Richard M. Upjohn. A window honoring Saint Mark from the old church is part of the current church and stands behind the choir stalls.[2] The congregation housed multiple community ministries including Addie's Attic Clothing Bank, Everyday Basics Essentials Pantry and the Augusta Area Food Bank, all of which operate in the adjacent Parish Hall, which was built in 1959.[3]

In 2015 the congregation began worshiping at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.[4] The church property was offered for sale in 2016.[5]

Activities
The church in 2012

Outside of church services, Saint Mark's Church also served as a venue for musical performances. Most prominent among these was an organ concert held every spring since 1997. In 2010, the annual concert was renamed the Annual Marilyn Tedesco Memorial Concert in honor of former St. Mark's Music Director and organist Marilyn Tedesco.[6]

Architecture

The church occupies a lot between Summer and Pleasant Streets a short way west of downtown Augusta. It is built out of quarry-faced granite, with a gable-roofed main section oriented east-west and two south-facing gabled projections. The western of the two projections has a tall square tower, with buttressed corners, belfry, and pyramidal roof topped by a cross. Windows are either lancet-arched in the Gothic style, or rectangular, and are decorated with tracery. The interior includes marble columns and detailed high-quality woodwork. The chancel ceiling has original stencil decorations.[7]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. St. Mark's Episcopal Church Website, http://www.stmarksaugusta.org/history.php
  3. St. Mark's Episcopal Church website, http://www.stmarksaugusta.org/ministries.php
  4. Craig Crosby (2014-02-22). "St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Augusta to move across the river". centralmain.com. Retrieved 2018-05-13..
  5. Keith Edwards (2017-07-16). "St. Mark's Episcopal Church, properties for sale in Augusta". centralmain.com. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
  6. Torrey Ham, "First Annual Marilyn Tedesco Memorial Concert", MyFoxMaine.com, March 23, 2010: http://www.myfoxmaine.com/community/community-calendar/88911182.html; Joe Riddick, "St. Mark's Senior Warden News", May 14, 2010.
  7. Frank Beard; Robert Reed (1984). "NRHP nomination for St. Mark's Episcopal Church". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-07-07.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) with photos from 1984
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