37 West Rittenhouse Street
Mt. Zion Church
Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form, Office of Historic Preservation, PA Historical & Museum Commission, Harrisburg, PA
Available at the Philadelphia Historical Commission

Included are photograph, site plan and text including the following information:

Mt. Zion Baptist Church
37 W. Rittenhouse Street
Philadelphia PA 19144

Gothic Revival church of quarry faced ashlar in above average condition. Built in 1893. David Gendell, architect. Survey by Clio Group, Inc. prepared by G. Thomas, 5/11/83.

Brief description:
"The Mt. Zion church occupies a less important site on Rittenhouse Street, as behooves its social and economic position. Gendell's design provided for a single gabled roof sheltering a center and two side aisles. Those subdivisions of space are hinted at by the central placement of the door, flanked by paired gothic windows. A small rose window above the entrance and pointed gothic windows along the side of the nave complete the stylistic idiom. One final note of interest is found in the apex of the front gable, where a checkerboard pattern of stone recalls the Richardson interlude."

History, significance, and background:
"In addition to this church, Gendell designed the Baptist Nugent retirement home, and another Baptist church up the Avenue. He thus served as the principal architect for the Baptists in Philadelphia, both in choice of architect and in spatial location."

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