This article was written by Megan Tressler and appeared in the McKeesport Daily News   9/1/1998

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What is so striking about the churches, apart from their location, is how different they are.   Though similar in structure and size, the churches use interior space and design so differently, they appear to be seperated by a century.  In reality, they were built 30 years apart.

During the Revival of 1800, as churches were springing up throughout the country, William Penn's family donated several large lots of land near the corner of Sixth Avenue and Smithfield Street to early American settlers.  The land was to used for the construction of churches and establishment of congregations.

The land had be used by Native Americans and the French and British soldiers who occupied Fort Duquesne and Fort Pitt as a burial ground.

During the French and Indian War, the French worshipped at a small log cabin and British chaplains performed Angligan services at Fort Pitt.

It was after the Revolutionary War when both the British and French had been forced off the continent, that religion in Pittsburgh became more organized.

Utilizing the lands donated by the Penns, Presbyterians and Espiscopalians established congregations and log chapels.

It wasn't until almost 100 years later, however, that brick structures replaced the log chapels to contain the expanding congregations.

First Presbyterian Church
The congregation of the First Presbyterian Church was established 225 years ago.   Services were held in member's homes until the congregation received 2.5 lots from the Penn family in 1787.

That same year, a log building was constructed and eight years later, the congregation's first brick building was established.

In 1853, another building was constructed to hold the growing congregation.  The current structure, designed by a Philadelphia architect, was built in 1903.

The church looks like it should be standing on a windy cliff, overlooking the English Channel, rather than in the middle of a busy city.

Rusticated sandstone covers the outside of the Modified English Gothic church, which is in the process of being repointed. The most impressive features of the exterior of the church are the arched wooden doorways and massive stained-glass window.  But the interior of the church is where the really stunning architecture is found.  Two 80-foot long quartered oak beams hold up the arch-laden ceiling.  Hanging from the rafters is an aluminum Celtic cross which is 10 feet high and weighs 200 pounds.   Lining the ground, is a shiny block stone floor and an organ with almost 5,000 pipes sits on a balcony overlooking the sanctuary.  But, the church's real treasure is its unrivaled collection of Tiffany windows.  Thirteen stained-glass masterpieces line the walls of the 200-foot long chapel.  The windows are 26 feet high and divided into two parts.  The lower portion of the windows depict earth scenes from the New Testament and the upper portions depict heavenly scenes with angels.  Though the colors of the stained glass reflect the light tones of an impressionist palette, brilliant hues surround the windows and seem to make the sanctuary glow in the mid-morning sun.   The best view of the windows, and the entire sanctuary for the matter, is standing on one of the two balconies on either side of the room.  From this point, the upper portion of the windows and the intricately-carved tops of the stone pillars can be seen.

Trinity Cathedral
A fire in 1967 drastically altered the appearance of the interior of Trinity Cathedral, but the exterior still looks the same as when the building was constructed in 1872.

Like First Presbyterian's congregation, Trinity's had several different buildings before the current Gothic structure, which sits on land donated by the Penn family.

The rusticated stones that make up the exterior of the cathedral are almost black with age and pollution.  The cathedral is dominated by a large stained-glass window and a very tall chapel.  The interior of the cathedral is definitely more simple than its next-door neighbor.  There are more stained-glass windows, but rather than the Tiffany-style of the First Presbyterian, Trinity's windows must be studied to understand what is being depicted.  The windows appear to be a collage of brightly-colored glass, until closer inspection reveals Biblical as well as contemporary scenes.   Small balconies flank the sanctuary and the high ceiling is topped by a series of almost rounded arches.  The elaborately-carved stone altar area of the church is backed by five stained-glass windows and surrounded with carved wood.

The sanctuary of Trinity is probably the same size as First Presbyterian, but the space is used differently.  In the first, small balconies give the nsanctuary a feeling of a lot of available space, while in the latter, three large balconies almost overtake the room.

Though the interior of the cathedral is fascinating, its unique feature lies outside the building.  Part of a centuries-old cemetery sits in a lot beside the cathedral.   At one time, the cemetery had more than 4,000 graves.  Today, only a handful remain, with the rest being moved to other locations throughout the years.  Many of the tombstones that still remain are so old that the inscriptions are faded and cannot be read.  Among the people still interred there are Red Pole, a Shawnee Indian chief and several Revolutionary War soldiers.

The little sanctuary of space on Sixth Avenue that holds the two churches indicates what the city was like hundreds of years ago and how it has grown around its history.   Stepping through the doors of First Presbyterian and Trinity Cathedral is stepping back in time to an era that is lost.  Fortunately, on a busy street in a busy city, nestled in between two contemporary structures, that era lingers on.

Shirley Starrett, church historian of First Presbyterian Church, also contributed to this story.

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