About St. Paul's Art and Architecture

Some stories about the art and architecture of our church . . .

Beginnings:  Winston was new and Salem already old when St. Paul's parish was organized in 1879.  The first two church buildings (1879, 1908) were in the heart of downtown Winston.

The 2002-2004 Renovation:  About ten years ago Marianna Thomas Architects of Philadelphia was hired to oversee the process leading to St. Paul's recent capital project.  The firm's vision and professional leadership helped to create the spaces and facilities we enjoy today.  The fine builder in charge of the recent project was Frank L. Blum Construction of Winston-Salem.  The project was made possible with broad-based financial support from the parish.

By 1925, the tobacco business had made Winston the largest city in North Carolina. The West End – the city’s first suburb – was almost full of houses built by Winston-Salem’s business leaders for their families.

The decision to move to the West End was made in the mid-20’s after the parish was offered several hundred thousand dollars for St. Paul’s downtown property – prime commercial real estate in the biggest city in the state.

The rest of the cost of the church was largely borne by Senior Warden R.E. Lasater. “Mr. Lasater” was in charge of R.J. Reynolds’ tobacco factories downtown – one of the major manufacturing complexes in North Carolina at the time and the world center of the tobacco industry.

J.C. Buxton’s house was on this site – then the highest point in Winston. As a young lawyer from Asheville, Buxton helped organize St. Paul’s – the first Episcopal church in Winston – and to build the first little church. Senior Warden for 30+ years, he also served as Winston’s mayor.

The 1928 Church: The architect for the new building in the West End was the leading church architect in the United States – Ralph Adams Cram of Boston. He designed major church buildings across the United States, including the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City and the chapels at Princeton and West Point. Cram was a proponent of the neogothic architecture you see in St. Paul’s building.

In the nave take special note of...

• The stained glass window over the altar, depicting Jesus Christ on the cross, is a rare work of art designed by Wright Goodhue. Acknowledged to have created some of the finest stained glass windows in the United States, Goodhue died in his twenties.
• The organ in the chancel arrived in Winston-Salem in three boxcars in July 1929 and was installed in time for the church consecration on September 6, 1929. Built by Ernest M. Skinner of the Skinner Organ Co., it was restored in 1997 and is irreplaceable. A Skinner Opus 712, it is one of four remaining in the United States.
• The statue in the transept shows St. Paul at the moment he recognizes Christ’s call and Paul’s sword is transformed into a cross. Given in the early 1990’s by lifelong parishioner Meade Willis, it was created by artists from the National Cathedral in Washington. Sculptor Jay Carpenter created the design which was carved by master stone carver Vincent Palumbo.

The builder chosen to build St. Paul’s was Young & Jacobs, New York, the same fine builder that had worked on Cram’s project at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The Cathedral bears an inscription over its entrance similar to that at the entrance of St. Paul’s: House of Prayer for all Peoples.

Note especially…

• The Colhoun Room. The fellowship hall, named in honor of the late Rector Emeritus Dudley Colhoun and his wife Sarah Hill, doubles the number of people who can come for supper at St. Paul’s. The beautiful wainscoting was made for the Colhoun Room from oak trees removed from the hill below. Bret Dolbear of Creekstone Farms Woodworking in Madison is the custom woodworker who turned the logs into wainscot.
   
• The fresco in the Colhoun Room shows the miracle of the five loaves and two fish feeding the 5000 and carries the message of God’s abundant love for mankind. The design resulted from a yearlong collaboration between the church’s fresco committee, Theologian-in-Residence Fred Horton, and fresco artist Roger Nelson. A word about frescoes: Fresco means fresh. The design is created by painting on fresh wet plaster. The white plaster under the pigment lightens the paint and makes it shine. Nelson and his assistants, Christopher Holt, John Dempsey and Jory Glazener, created the fresco in approximately 63 twelve-hour painting days. The left-hand corner of the fresco includes Roger Nelson’s tribute to his teacher, friend and fellow fresco artist Ben Long.
   
• St. Paul’s labyrinth in the Chapel is for the ancient spiritual practice of walking meditation. Architect and parishioner Marc Bryson created an original design for this space using a classic seven-circuit design. The labyrinth, made of Turkish travertine marble, was made possible by a gift from the mother of St. Paul’s Rector from 1997-2007, The Rev. Don P. Goodheart.
  
  
• The Samson-Loetzer Memorial Organ in the Chapel  Installation began in early December 2004 after St. Paul’s parishioners helped unload the 18-wheeler delivering the organ. Designed and built by Jon Schreiner of Schenectady, New York in collaboration with the Fisk Company of Gloucester, Massachusetts, the exquisite tracker organ is perfect for this space and made possible by a gift from Judy Samson in honor of her parents and grandparents. The new organ was dedicated at a special Evening Prayer service on Sunday, February 26, 2006.
  
  
• The Altar in the Chapel  Local artists John Stevens and Martin O’Brien were commissioned to design and build an altar for St. Paul’s new Chapel. To allow for varied worship experiences, the altar is on wheels – a truly moveable feast. Wood from the Summit Street magnolia tree cut down on the front property in 2002 was sawed and cured and used for the altar. The beautiful altar was finished in the spring of 2009.
   
• Stained Glass Windows  St. Paul's has a remarkable collection of stained glass windows. We have beautiful windows made by Franz Mayer of Munich, Germany and Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York. Our nave windows were made in Boston by Reynolds, Francis and Rhonstock. Our glorious altar window, one of the finest stained glass windows in America, was made by Harry Wright Goodhue. In December 2011 we added to our collection w a set of eight lancet windows for our new chapel designed by Rowan LeCompte, famous for his celebrated clerestory windows at the National Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Washington, DC.
  Our chapel windows were fabricated by Mary Clerkin Higgins of Clerkin Higgins Stained Glass in New York City. Ms. Higgins, a renowned stained glass artist and conservator, fabricated two of Mr. LeCompte's windows at the National Cathedral. The eight lower windows for our chapel were installed by Ms. Higgins just in time for Christmas in 2011. The windows feature natural themes of flowers and trees. Six windows were donated by St. Paul's parishioners and their families. One window, a beautiful weeping willow, is called the Parish Family Window by parishoners who made a contribution.