A Brief History of St. Paul’s
The first building of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Des Moines.
Humble Beginnings:
St. Paul’s has grown with Des Moines, standing as a Christian witness in the life of our community for over a century and a half. The city was incorporated in January, 1853 and St. Paul’s held its first services in October of the following year. Services were held at the Polk County Courthouse, sharing space on Sundays with several denominations on a first-come, first-served basis. Just two years later, our first building was erected at the corner of Seventh and Walnut. Consecrated in July, 1857, it was of frame construction with a square bell tower over the entry, seen below.
The congregation grew out of the first building, and the Vestry purchased two lots on the corner of Ninth Street and High Street. The local architectural firm of Foster and Liebbe was commissioned to design the church, and construction began in 1884.
Image of original stained glass from the outside of the building.
The 1885 Building:
Designed as a late Victorian Gothic church, virtually all windows and exterior door openings are Gothic arched, and the building is anchored to its setting by the corner bell tower topped with crenelated stone spires. One marvels at the craftsmanship of the 19-century stone carvers using their 19th-century tools. The lectern, pulpit, and marble baptismal font were moved into the new building, and the first services were held here on Easter 1885.
Inside the nave, our stained-glass windows are original. It is not only unusual that all of the memorial windows were completed within a year of construction, but also unusual that all were provided by a single company, Groves & Steil of Philadelphia, and the commission has proven to be its most lasting legacy as the largest and last repository of work by one of Philadelphia’s most successful 19th-century art glass firms. The windows are fabricated in the then-popular Aesthetic Style. They combine stylized floral and foliage shapes with traditional Christian symbolism and the Victorian language of flowers, giving them multiple levels of meaning, all unified by repeating colors and motifs. The memorial windows in the chancel, all commemorating bishops and clergy, were likely chosen by the rector, perhaps with input from the vestry and were possibly paid for out of the church building fund. The other windows were donated by numerous parishioners, including a widow of limited means, a clerk, a musical-instrument salesman, a hotel owner, and a real estate developer.
The eclectic design of the windows and the memorial quotations suggest that each person or couple who donated a window determined its content themselves, rather than having an overall program decided by clergy or the architect.
Moving into the 20th and 21st Centuries:
When built, St. Paul’s was one of seven houses of worship from that period that stood in an area which was jocularly (but not irreverently) called “Piety Hill.” With time the other congregations left their downtown locations, moving west with the growing population of Des Moines.
Organist and Choir Master, Canon Mark Babcock, playing our Casavant organ.
Birdseye View of the 1885 building and the 20th century additions.
St. Paul’s remains, and our history can perhaps be characterized best by our commitment to ministry as a downtown church, as members have affirmed and reaffirmed their intent to remain at the present site as a vital hub in the life of the city and the Diocese of Iowa. The central mass and features of the original 1885 design have remained basically unaltered since it was built; subsequent renovations and the consciously harmonious 1952 addition of the parish house have served to preserve and maintain the structure and to complement its life as the liturgical center of the parochial and diocesan family.
Interior modifications in 1937 (around the time of the building’s 50th anniversary) include the oak paneled walls in the choir and sanctuary, and the installation of a neo-Gothic, carved wooden reredos. Following St. Paul’s designation as the cathedral and liturgical center for the Diocese of Iowa in 1992, the chancel was refitted to include the cathedra (bishop’s chair) and stalls for the dean and canons. Additionally, at this time a new pipe organ was commissioned. The present instrument, Opus 3719 of the famous Casavant Frères of Quebec, was installed the following year. It is one of the largest pipe organs in the state: there are 3,916 pipes, and the largest weigh 500 pounds and stand thirty-two feet tall.
In addition to the organ, the bells in our carillon (or bell tower) are another living embodiment of our robust musical heritage. The original chime was installed in 1896 (not without protest from the rector) and included eleven bells, rung by hand every Sunday for almost 60 years at a cost of $5 per month. The chime was electrified in 1954, and in 1990 it was completely restored, retuned and expanded to fourteen bells. In 1997 eleven more bells were added, bringing the total number to twenty-five (their combined weight is 12,538 pounds). It is Des Moines’ only carillon and the fourth largest in the state. Our weekly Sunday morning carillon concerts can be heard throughout downtown Des Moines, and presently they are livestreamed on our Facebook page.
Unique to our location – and indeed to downtown Des Moines – is our labyrinth and rain garden, which replaced a decrepit asphalt parking lot on the north side of the church in 2011. The new lot features permeable pavement (for storm water management) and landscaping with native plants that do not require irrigation during periods of drought. The labyrinth and rain garden are always open to the public, free of charge.
In 2010 St. Paul’s was honored by our addition to the National Register of Historic Places.
Today’s parishioners represent a variety of socio-economic, educational, and vocational backgrounds, including members of varied racial and ethnic origins, and we continually emphasize that all are welcome within this oasis of sacred beauty in the heart of a 21st-century business district.