OUR HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE
A Landmark in the Heart of the City
Discover the Story of St. Pete First →
Facing Williams Park in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg, the historic home of St. Pete First has been part of the city's skyline for a century.
Constructed in 1925–26, the church is an outstanding example of Gothic Revival architecture with a strong English Gothic influence. Its red-brick walls, soaring bell tower, pointed arches, stone tracery, stained glass, and steeply pitched roof create a building designed to draw the eye—and the spirit—upward.
Building a Downtown Landmark
The present sanctuary is actually the congregation's fourth church home.
St. Pete First's first church was built in 1891 near 7th Street and Central Avenue. When the congregation relocated to its present site in 1902, members recalled that the original frame church was “moved on rollers” to the new property.
A larger brick church replaced it in 1905, but St. Petersburg's rapid growth during the 1920s soon required an even larger sanctuary.
Designed by architect James Baldwin, the present church was constructed in 1925–26.
The result became one of downtown St. Petersburg's most recognizable landmarks.
Gothic Revival Design
The church is constructed of red brick accented with cast-concrete Gothic ornamentation.
Its most prominent feature is the approximately 144-foot bell tower, which rises above the corner of 3rd Street North and 2nd Avenue North. Pointed arches, buttresses, stone tracery, and strong vertical lines reinforce the building's Gothic character.
Facing Williams Park, a monumental stained-glass window fills the center of the south facade, its intricate tracery echoing the Gothic detailing of the tower.
Inside, balconies form a U-shaped gallery around the sanctuary. But perhaps the room's most memorable architectural feature is something less tangible:
light.
Sunlight passing through the historic stained glass fills the sanctuary with changing colors throughout the day.
Stained Glass
The sanctuary's leaded stained-glass windows were created in 1926 by the George Hardy Payne Studios of Paterson, New Jersey.
Designed in the Tiffany style, they combine traditional painted glass with multiple layers of richly colored opalescent and faceted glass.
Look closely when you visit. The color and appearance of the windows change dramatically as sunlight moves around the sanctuary.
Ten windows along the east and west walls portray major events in the life and Passion of Jesus Christ. The great south window facing Williams Park depicts Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper and remains one of the sanctuary's most striking features.
Click here for more information on our stained-glass windows.
The Bell Tower & Carillon
The soaring tower originally housed a ten-bell carillon, later expanded to 15 bells.
The original bronze bells were cast in 1926 by the historic Meneely Bell Company of Troy, New York. The largest weighs approximately 2,208 pounds.
Originally played through a manual lever system, the carillon was converted to an electronic keyboard in 1964. For generations, its bells have carried the sound of St. Pete First across Williams Park and the surrounding downtown streets.
Our Historic Pipe Organ
Music was part of the sanctuary's design from the beginning.
In 1925, the church contracted with Austin Pipe Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut, to build a 22-rank organ containing 1,541 pipes. Thirteen ranks from that original instrument remain in use today.
Over the next century, the organ grew along with the church. A new three-manual Klann console and additional pipes were installed in 1966, bringing the instrument to 27 ranks. During the 1971 sanctuary renovation, the choir loft was lowered and eight more ranks were added behind new grille work.
A major expansion followed in 1982, when the Klug and Schumacher Pipe Organ Company designed a new instrument incorporating much of the original Austin organ. Twenty-six ranks were added on a lower level, improving the organ's ability to accompany both the congregation and choir and bringing the instrument to 54 ranks of pipes.
A three-manual Allen console was installed in 1985 and served the church for nearly four decades.
In 2024, St. Pete First undertook another major upgrade. A custom-designed four-manual Walker Technical Company console was installed to control all 54 ranks of the historic pipe organ along with 160 digital Walker ranks. The result combines the character and craftsmanship of the church's historic pipework with the capabilities of modern organ technology.
Today's organ is truly a living instrument built across generations—preserving pipework from the original 1925 Austin organ while incorporating additions and innovations spanning nearly a century.
As St. Pete First enters its second century of worship in this sanctuary, the organ continues the purpose for which it was first installed: leading God's people in worship and filling this sacred space with music.
THEN & NOW — The original 1925 Austin organ had 22 ranks and 1,541 pipes. Today's instrument has grown to 2,979 pipes across 54 ranks, complemented by 160 digital ranks—all controlled from a custom four-manual Walker console installed in 2024.
Gilbert Memorial Chapel
The Ruel B. Gilbert Memorial Chapel, completed in June 1951, offers a more intimate counterpart to the grand sanctuary.
Its namesake had played an important role in the church's history. Ruel B. Gilbert made a major contribution that helped free the congregation from debt during the Depression and, in 1947, gave another $50,000 toward construction of a new chapel.
Additional gifts helped complete the project, creating a space that has since welcomed generations for worship, prayer, weddings, and other gatherings.
A Living Landmark
The sanctuary has never been frozen in time.
A major renovation completed in 1971 introduced a wide center aisle and narthex, redesigned the choir and organ areas, and created a more flexible chancel for worship, music, and other presentations. Additional refurbishment followed in later years.
Those changes reflect an important part of the story of St. Pete First: preserving what generations before us built while adapting it to serve generations still to come.
For a century, these doors have opened for worship. Bells have sounded across downtown. Sunlight has streamed through the stained glass. Organ music has filled the sanctuary. Children have grown up here, couples have married here, and families have gathered in moments of both celebration and grief.
Our building is historic because of its age and architecture.
It is sacred because of what has happened within it.