First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh
320 Sixth Avenue
* * * * * * * *
SAT: 10:00am - 4:00pm
YOUR EXPERIENCE
Experience two very unique features of this church—the one-of-a-kind Tiffany stained-glass windows and the two gigantic shell doors behind the low pulpit. Guides will be available to discuss the history of the congregation and other features of the architecture. Scan QR codes to read a devotional and description of each stained-glass window in the sanctuary. Church organist Sean Baran will demonstrate the beauty and power of the church’s amazing pipe organ with 15-minute organ concerts at the top of each hour. (Visitors can also grab a cookie and a souvenir).
NOTE: Organist will be playing 15-minute concerts at the top of each hour; last performance of the day will be at the 3:00 hour.
Wheelchair-Accessible Entrance: YES
Wheelchair-Accessible Restrooms: YES
Public Restrooms: YES
Photography Allowed: YES
Wheelchair-accessible entrance is located at the rear entrance on Oliver Avenue.
ABOUT THIS BUILDING
First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh is built on land granted by the heirs of William Penn. The current building, completed in 1905, is the fourth on the site. It is a Gothic Revival style patterned after Yorkminster Cathedral in England under the direction of architect Theophilus P. Chandler of Philadelphia.
The building’s unique combination of wood, stone and glass continues to marvel visitors from around the world. The central arches support two wooden beams, eighty-four feet long and two feet thick, which came from two trees in Oregon.
The church has a unique collection of thirteen Tiffany windows. Each window is hand painted on special “cathedral glass” and stands 26 feet high and 7.5 feet wide. A fourteenth window was made by the Charles and Frederick Lamb Studio.
The great medallion window facing Sixth Avenue was the first of its kind in America, the work of famed designer William Willet. The current organ, installed in 1988 by Casavant Freres of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, is one of the finest in the region, with over 4,400 pipes and 77 ranks.
The shell doors behind the low pulpit (First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh has three pulpits, due to the importance of God’s Word) are thirty feet tall weighing two tons each and are so perfectly balanced that they can be opened by one person. Behind the doors is the chapel and the great “Stem of Jesse” window depicting the genealogy of Jesus Christ. This window was the work of Clayton and Bell of London, England.
On the west wall of the sanctuary is “Amor Caritas” (Love and Charity), a full-length statue of an angel in a flowing gown by famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Similar works by Saint-Gaudens are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Chicago Art Institute and the Musée d’Orsay.
Photo Credit: Christopher Litherland
NOTE: Participating buildings and event hours for each subject to change; please check the website regularly for any updates.