Grace Episcopal Church

Grace Episcopal ChurchLocation: Grace Episcopal Church. 140 Pilot Street. Block: 5640, Lot: 14.

Status: Never landmarked or heard.

Description from the Bronx SurveyA style which developed concurrently with the Italianate was the Gothic Revival. By definition it was associated with ecclesiastical architecture, and an example may be found in the Grace Episcopal Church on the southwest comer of City Island Avenue and Pilot Street.

The church was organized in 1862 under the auspices of Christ Church in Pelham when the Reverend Cornelius Winter Bolton offered his services to City Island. His sister Adele Bolton along with other members of the Pelham Priory collected $1,358 .00 for a new church, $600.00 of which was contributed by islanders. Records state that construction was in progress in 1867 on land that was donated by George Washington Horton.

Very simplified in design, the wooden structure was built by local ships’ carpenters and shows a naive and charming interpretation cf the Carpenter Gothic style. The church presents its gable end to the street, and the steeple is placed off-center to the side, evidence of the asymmetry favored by the style. The entrance is located in the steeple which is topped by a polygonal roof separated from narrow ventilators by a bracketed cornice.

The church’s steeply pitched roof and narrow pointed -arched windows emphasize verticality, and the wooden buttresses on either side of the building show how the rural builder has interpreted a traditionally structural element as a purely decorative form. The exceptional stained glass windows were designed by William and John Bolton, who are credited with bringing the art to America.

Another notable example of their work may be found in the Holy Trinity Espiscopal Church in Brooklyn. Although the western window on Grace Episcopal has been replaced, the triptych on the east facade is intact, enhancing the effect of this picturesque church.,

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