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Saint Clement's Church

Architect
John Notman
Year
1859
Style
Romanesque Revival
City
Philadelphia, PA
Saint Clement's Church
Photo: Dgf32, CC BY 3.0
See it on the map

Saint Clement's Church is an Anglo-Catholic Episcopal parish in Logan Square, designed by John Notman, with a charter granted in 1855 and its cornerstone laid May 12, 1856. It once carried a spire over 200 feet tall, removed in 1869 after proving too heavy for the foundation, and in 1929 the entire 5,000-ton building, church, parish house, and rectory, was lifted onto steel rollers and moved 40 feet west to make way for the widening of 20th Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1970.

the building

A spire too heavy to keep. The original spire rose more than 200 feet, but it was found to be too heavy for the church's foundation and was removed in 1869.

Moved 40 feet for a wider street. In 1929, the entire building complex, church, parish house, and rectory, weighing 5,000 short tons, was jacked onto steel rollers and rolled 40 feet west intact to clear room for widening 20th Street.

the style

Saint Clement's is Romanesque Revival, one of John Notman's church designs from the same era as his work at Holy Trinity and the Cathedral Basilica dome, though the specific ornamental vocabulary here isn't detailed in the record.

More on Romanesque Revival

the architect

John Notman designed Saint Clement's Church, one of several Philadelphia church commissions by the Scottish-born architect who also designed the Church of the Holy Trinity and contributed the dome and facade of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

significance

Saint Clement's was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1970. Its 1929 relocation, moving a 5,000-ton building 40 feet without demolishing it, stands as a rare feat of building preservation in the path of street widening.

nearby

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