Red Doors Project: Part 2

Before I begin with Part 2, let me add one more lovely sketch of St. George which I neglected to post last time. This one’s by Jo, and I apologize for leaving it out.

And a correction from the Archives and Collections Manager at the Beaches Museum about the Beaches Museum Chapel, formerly St. Paul’s-by-the-Sea: “I wanted to let you know that the stained glass windows are not original. As you can see in the attached photograph, which dates from around 1900, the original windows were clear glass.Local lore has it that the priest at the church had the stained glass installed when he grew tired of the congregation looking out the windows at the beach instead of listening to his sermons!”

Now, on to our trip down the St. Johns. On a beautiful day with a breeze off the river, we sketched St. Mary’s, Green Cove Springs. Built in 1878 as one of the original river missions, it does have its original stained glass windows (restored). They are one of the earliest examples of American designed and manufactured stained glass in Florida. One window toward the back of the church has an upside down flour-de-lis – installed on purpose to show that no man is perfect, only God.

Back up to Jacksonville. Originally St. Paul’s Episcopal on Atlantic Boulevard, this little church was donated to MOSH and restored in the 70s. In 1994 it was moved by barge down river to the city and now stands in Fletcher Park in San Marco. San Marco Preservation Hall is run by the San Marco Preservation Society for events. It was 81 degrees and very humid with Hurricane Eta on the way.

Grace Chapel, Orange Park, was built in 1880, and I have heard that it was originally white like other carpenter gothic churches of that time. However, it now has brown shingles, and no one has been able to find out when they were added. Anybody???

Holy Comforter, Crescent City, was designed by Richard Upjohn whose plans were used by most of these churches. Built in 1878, it was restored in 1998. One of the parishioners kindly showed us inside and told us the history of the church. Thank you.

Emmanuel Episcopal, Welaka, was also designed by Upjohn and built in 1880. It has the original bell from that time, but two large crosses which were part of the original church were lost when it was reroofed. The current cross was installed in 1976.

On a personal note, I used to attend this church when we had a lake house not far from here in the early 80s. Until 1984, the windows of Emmanuel were arches and rectangles of translucent panes of colored stained glass. Today’s windows were designed and created by Nord’s Studio in Crescent City. From the comments and memorabilia of the family donating the window, each one was specifically designed for the person in whose memory it was given. I was fortunate to be there and was able to design a window myself in memory of my father. Thank you, Janice, for letting us in to see it again.

St Mary’s, Palatka, is a sweet little church in the middle of town. It was built in 1883, but I could not find anything about its history. It was a beautiful day for sketching, and, as recommended by Fr. Bob Marsh, we ate at Angel’s Diner, the oldest diner in Florida! and had their “amazing onion rings.” Next time I’ll have their famous drink, a Pusilow! (Chocolate milk and vanilla syrup over crushed ice.) It’s worth a trip!

All Saints Episcopal Church, Enterprise, was built in 1883 and is the southernmost church still standing of these river mission churches. (There was one in Sanford, but it was destroyed by a hurricane, then by fire in 1923.) The outside walls of All Saints are made of natural cypress; the church is all virgin timber, longleaf and curly pine and cypress. The church is original except for the sacristy (added in 1950) and front porch (added in 1971).

OK, that’s it. This wraps up the Red Doors Project. We are ready to move on to something else. One suggestion is to sketch the buildings built by John Henry Klutho after the Great Fire of 1901 in Jacksonville. We’ll see how far we get. As for me, I’m ready to go back to Cafe Sketching and painting food! Maybe before long we will all have had our 2 shots of vaccine and can. I’ll leave you with this sketch from Joanne who’s staying home a little longer: