Calvary Center for Culture and Community (Philadelphia, PA)

Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church was erected at 48th and Baltimore in 1905-1906, by New York architects Brown, Gillespie and Carrell. The architects' genius is apparent in the gemstone floor plan, perfect for the unusual footprint of the five-point intersection.

The resulting interior spaces include an acoustically outstanding sanctuary in a trapezoidal shape, and an intimate semi-circular theater/chapel, an outstanding early example of the Akron Sunday School plan.



Completed in 1898, the original chapel and parsonage were demolished in 1905.

Also featuring a Brothers O'Dell organ, extensive original woodwork, scagliola columns, hand-painted murals, and a magnificent suite of leaded and stained glass windows and domes, the Calvary Church is home to the two largest Tiffany window ensembles in Philadelphia.