243 West Argonne
Kirkwood, Missouri 63122
www.stpeterkirkwood.org

St. Peter is second only to St. Ferdinand in Florissant as the oldest Catholic parish in St. Louis County. It was founded in 1832, two decades before the town of Kirkwood itself. St. Peter's Cemetery at Geyer and Monroe occupies part of the original church tract. The present building was begun in 1951 and dedicated two years later. It was the second of three churches of strikingly contemporary design commissioned by the St. Louis archdiocese from architect Joseph Denys Murphy. The earlier church was St. Ann in Normandy, and the third was Resurrection Church at Meramec and Hydraulic in St. Louis. These churches reflect an unusual willingness on the part of the Catholic church to adopt modern design. All prominently feature stained glass created by Emil Frei Associates in programs of complex symbolism.

Here at St. Peter's, each window represents a portion of the traditional ceremony of the mass, beginning with the Confiteor and the Introit to the right of the entry, and ending with the Lord's Prayer and the Ite, Missa Est to the left of the altar. Colors are graduated in intensity from pale gray to deep red. Only one window includes a full human figure, the consecration window directly behind the altar. The windows were designed by Francis Deck and were restored in 1991. The curve of the circular skylight above the altar is echoed in the rear wall and the convex chancel steps.

The façade of the church was altered in 2003 when the narthex was moved forward to create the large Gathering Area, connecting with the circular former baptistery on the left. The baptismal font was then moved inside to the main aisle. The alcove on the left side of the church, formerly a side chapel marking the site of the old frame church, was integrated into the main worship space, with seating curved to face the high altar. A new chapel was created behind the altar, with seats facing south. The depiction of Joseph with the young Jesus in the statue in the former chapel area is said to be highly unusual.

Joseph Murphy, born in 1907 in Kansas City, came to St. Louis to teach at Washington University. In partnership with Kenneth Wischmeyer, he produced the loggia at the Muny Opera in 1939. In 1948, he became dean of the Washington University School of Architecture, and in 1952 he joined Eugene Mackey, Jr., in a partnership that produced some of the familiar buildings of the era, including the Climatron, the Loretto-Hilton Theater, the auditorium of the St. Louis Art Museum, and Olin Library at Washington University.


Notes by Esley Hamilton and Philip Barnes