St. Mark's Episcopal Church is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of the Episcopal Church in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, founded in 1877 by two

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

faculty families in a Victorian style, wood-frame parish house in 1877. It was rebuilt in 1902, in the Mission Revival style designed by William Curlett. The church supports special programs for students and the community of Berkeley. The rector is the Rev. Blake Sawicky.

History

St. Mark's Church was established in 1877, by two

faculty families. The Victorian styled, wood-frame parish house was replaced in 1902, by a church designed by architect, William Curlett (1845–1914) in the Mission Revival style. The church is dedicated to Rev.

William Ingraham Kip William Ingraham Kip (October 3, 1811 – April 7, 1893) was an American Protestant Episcopal bishop. Early life Kip was born in New York City, of Breton ancestry, the son of Leonard Kip and Maria (Ingraham) Kip.Memorial Biographies, 130 He gr ...

, California's first

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Episcopal bishop. St. Mark's it is the first building in Berkeley of the Mission Revival style. The historic

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

is located on 2300 Bancroft Way at Ellsworth Street. It has a square-shaped bell tower with two arched entrances on the first floor with an open

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

. Recent restoration reopened the arched openings. The octagonal domed roof has a cross at the top. The church has two stained-glass rose windows by

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

on the west side of the church, that was installed in 1916. A second bell tower with a domed roof is on the southwest corner. The shape of the church is modeled after the

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo, or Misión de San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, first built in 1797, is one of the most authentically restored Catholic mission churches in California. Located at the mouth of Carmel Valley, Californi ...

Carmel-by-the-Sea Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

. In 1911, the church parish house, that was used for 16 years, was torn down to build a new parish house, designed by architect

Willis Polk Willis Jefferson Polk (October 3, 1867 – September 10, 1924) was an American architect, best known for his work in San Francisco, California. For ten years, he was the West Coast representative of D.H. Burnham & Company. In 1915, Polk oversaw t ...

. The new house included a two-story house with an auditorium, Sunday school rooms, library, and office space. The new memorial parish house was a memorial gift by children of the late Mrs. James Palache. The pulpit was carved by the interior design firm,

Vickery, Atkins & Torrey Vickery, Atkins & Torrey was an interior design firm and art gallery in San Francisco, California, that helped introduce California to Impressionism. It opened in 1888 on Grant Avenue at Morton Street (now called Maiden Lane), where it was destro ...

of San Francisco. St. Mark's is known for its music. It has a organ built by Dutch organ builder Dirk Andries Flentrop of

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Za ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

in 1971. The

Pacific Mozart Ensemble Pacific Edge Voices (formerly The Pacific Mozart Ensemble (PME)) is a volunteer choral organization based in Berkeley, CA. The group was formed to provide a chorus of professional quality for highly skilled and experienced singers who did not wi ...

performed

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

's ''Deutsche Motette'' at St Mark's Church in March 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, Berkeley, California Episcopal church buildings in California Buildings and structures in Berkeley, California Religious organizations established in 1877 Churches completed in 1902

History

See also

References

External links