826 Union Blvd,
St. Louis, Missouri 63108
www.pilgrimuccstl.org

TPilgrim Congregational Church was built in 1906 in an emerging development now recognized as Visitation Park Historic District, next to the Central West End. Among many nearby institutions its immediate neighbors were Soldan High School (now International Studies-Soldan) of 1908 by William B. Ittner, and the Artist Guild (now Dignity House) of 1907 by Louis C. Spiering. Sally Benson, who later wrote "Meet Me in St. Louis," lived a block east on Kensington.

The church was designed by Mauran, Russell & Garden, a firm descended from the great Boston architect H.H. Richardson, and this was their last design reflecting his distinctive Romanesque style, with round arches and massive rock-faced stones in contrasting colors. Inside, the most interesting architectural feature is the brick-faced, barrel-vaulted narthex. The simplicity of the interior is accented by the interlace-patterned gray or 'grisaille' glass of the windows, derived from English medieval traditions. The chapel next to the church was the gift of member William C. Danforth, founder of Ralston-Purina. It was built in 1940-1941 to designs by Jamieson & Spearl and was perhaps the last work of James P. Jamieson, the architect of Washington University.

Pilgrim was founded in 1866 at Washington Boulevard and Ewing (now Rev. T.E. Huntley Avenue), the second Congregational church in the city and for many years the largest and most fashionable. It achieved another distinction in 1953, when it became the first Protestant church in the area to affirm a policy of integration. Four years later, Pilgrim became part of the United Church of Christ, a merger of the Evangelical & Reformed and Congregational-Christian denominations. Several of the carols sung at the Chamber Chorus's performance of "An American Christmas" here on December 17, 1995 were subsequently recorded for A Chamber Christmas, the group's third compact disc.

Notes by Esley Hamilton and Philip Barnes