Architect: Samuel J. Collins, 1949 with addition by Winks-Snowa, 1996
Address: 909 Rennie Avenue
Dates: 1949, 1996
Ginter Park is a dowager of Richmond neighborhoods with such distinguishing characteristics as magnificent shade trees, an eclectic collection of early 20th century domestic architecture and streets with grassy median strips that manage to be simultaneously rural and boulevard-like in character. But hilly this former streetcar suburb isn’t. In a city known for its terrain, even the slightest slope is rare on these Northside flatlands where marshes had to be drained to allow for residential development.
One of the few hillocks is in the 3000 block of Chamberlayne Avenue. Here, St. Paul’s Catholic Church rests on a grassy slope. The church’s setting in a relatively open space gives it added prominence.
The sanctuary and the original parish house are faced in smooth, square-cut ashlar stone. The walls support a steep roof that sweeps upward and is covered in red-hued, terra cotta tiles. The eye is pulled even further with a thin spire that rises from the crossing where the nave and transept meet.
The original complex was designed by Samuel J. Collins, a Staunton-based architect (who designed another distinctive, mid-century Richmond landmark, the Virginia War Memorial on Belvidere Street).
In 1996 St. Paul’s added a new parish hall fronting Chamberlayne Avenue. The 6,000 square foot building extension was designed by Winks-Snowa Architecture of Richmond. Although the front wall of the wing is flush with that of the original church, the roofing material is standing seam gray metal. Were it not for the change in roofing, one might not guess that the buildings were built half a century apart.
French windows overlook the front, sloping lawn, while behind, French doors open onto an attractively landscaped terrace, offering the congregants an outdoor gathering place.
Ginter Park has a handful of distinguished worship spaces. St. Paul’s is one of most architecturally sophisticated.
E.S.
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