High Time

Steeple at oldest church in
Pennsylvania being repainted

*Thanks to a matching grant, the steeple at Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’), Pennsylvania’s oldest church, will be repainted this spring. Photo by Jim Murphy, author of Real Philly History, Real Fast.*

As a child, I used to play a game with my hands that my parents taught me.

I would interlock my fingers, raise my index or forefingers, then open my hands, and say: “Here’s the church and here’s the steeple. Open it up and see all the people.”

For some reason I thought that was funny. And I thought about that childhood game recently when I learned that Gloria Dei — or Old Swedes’ Church — will get its steeple repainted this spring.

To me, the repainting of this steeple is a big deal, because this church, dedicated in 1700, is Pennsylvania’s oldest church.

Even after the church was opened, however, building the steeple was still a question. Pastor Andreas Rudman said plans were to build a bell room “and also a spire, so that it may reach 80 or 100 feet in all, if one dare risk so high a tower in this land of fiercely strong storm winds.”

Eventually, the church took that risk.

Rev. Dr. Kim-Eric Williams, curator and archivist at Historic Gloria Dei (Old Swedes’) Preservation Corporation, believes the bell tower (and steeple) were constructed in 1705. He bases that on Swedish church records that were only recently translated into English.

Not everyone agrees with that timeline. At least one historian says the tower was built in 1733. Another, George E. Thomas, a noted cultural and architectural historian, estimates the tower’s date as the 1770s. He believes the spire was added sometime before 1800. Why? It appears in the background of a William Birch print of the frigate Philadelphia being built in November 1798 at Humphrey’s & Wharton Shipyard nearby.

Thomas also says William Penn attended the laying of the church cornerstone.

Whenever the steeple was built, it enhanced the look of the church and the neighborhood.

In 1748, Swedish traveler Peter Kalm described the area around Gloria Dei his way:

“The Swedish church, which is otherwise called the Church of Wicaco, is in the south part of the town, almost outside of it on the riverside, and its location is therefore more agreeable than that of any other.”

Interesting Oddities:

Gloria Dei is reported to be the oldest surviving brick building in Philadelphia. Historian George W. Boudreau says Gloria Dei may also be the only surviving building in Pennsylvania William Penn ever set foot in.
The church is located at Wicaco, or what the Lenape Indians called “peaceful place.”
Gloria Dei may have been built at Wicaco because of the shake of a hat. One Swedish group wanted the new church to be at Passyunk, another at Wicaco. Papers with the names of the two choices were placed in a hat. Wicaco’s name was picked first, says Thompson Westcott in “The Historic Mansions and Buildings of Philadelphia.”
Even then, he says, there were problems, because the lot at Wicaco did not extend all the way to the Delaware River. At one point, the project was almost abandoned. But cooler heads prevailed, the additional land was bought and construction began in 1698.
Gloria Dei Church was designated a National Historic Site in 1942, six years before Independence Hall.

The repainting, along with repairs to the church and Parish Hall, were made possible with the help of a generous $65,000 matching Keystone Historic Preservation Grant to the Historic Gloria Dei Preservation Corporation.

FAST FACTS

Name: Gloria Dei Church

Address: 916 S. Swanson St., Phila., PA 19147

Funding Organization: Historic Gloria Dei Preservation Corporation

Website: https://preserveoldswedes.org

Donations: https://preserveoldswedes.org/donate/

Research Credit: Amy Grant

Some Sources:

Boudreau, George W. Independence: A Guide to Historic Philadelphia. Yardley (Pa.): 2012, Westholme Publishing.

https://blog.phillyhistory.org/index.php/2006/10/

https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QaduWiuOFfBbvuvlhHvbxfBuLn-5PdythkLhee8-DSqzhwgt7143HNYjYqxwjLcd3TPgbFJs5LpJEZDa2zkZ8pz7faTUByIBXBI2_6FirbPaaC7rg4klH95d7f54depSPaUH-ZdFNyaNltVEoOr_4ixw5nyM7ICsQc3WETnVIJBa4K7MSyH9ykvf-HXhdbEriAdJc_2n47A4hvH7khZie7yAjUje4-uQ_xjMwVtWAk_T4FJRlZQihf-Yr6dt5pTuyw7HJs9aaZ-hU2i96hkS0fAme3FrLpZhXrs7nAYE1Y1UrpXbbaA

https://churchos-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/2020/07/18/05/27/34/047cb92e-7518-483f-a013-cfa6783efa56/2017%20-%20Gloria%20Dei%20Annual%20Meeting.pdf