The hills are alive….with the sound of the Project! This week we return to the Schuylkill and the slanted streets beyond to visit Roxborough’s Holy Family. The last time we came to this general area, waaay back over a year and a half ago, we were treated to Manayunk’s still-staggeringly excellent St. John the Baptist.
There’s actually some debate as to whether Holy Family joins St. John in Manayunk. The church’s address falls, according to most planning definitions, within the boundaries of the Rox. Yet, that same address has the ‘yunk’s 19127 zip code, not the 19128 of Roxborough.
So which is it? Hell if I know. As I’ve said before, I’m in the church business, not the planning business. But I’m going with Roxborough on this one, since, you know, they haven’t really gotten to participate in the Project’s fun, and I hate to exclude anybody.
Locational quandaries aside, Holy Family is a stout entry. Not John the Baptist worthy, of course. But that’s a tall order for anyone. We may not get a towering gothic colossus, but we do get a solid non-cruciform Italian-Renaissance design that’s highlighted by a soft-pumpkin color scheme, fairly intricate script and mural work, large and brilliant stained-glass windows, and some nice marble altars. In terms of décor, think of it as a St. Michael, only slightly larger, with better stained-glass, without the intricate molding and without the cleaving balcony. Oh, and yeah, don’t forget about the cool pumpkiny color.
The most intriguing thing, though, is the exterior. No, not the building itself, which, aside from a pretty spire, is a mostly standard granite design. The curious thing is the placement and the landscaping. Unlike most Catholic churches, which go out of their way to be prominent, Holy Family seems to be trying really hard not to be found. It’s set far back on a double-elevated plain and surrounded by bushy, towering trees. That means that only the spire is truly visible; and I didn’t even see any signage that confirmed that, yes, this is a church. Heck, I haven’t seen a parish so strangely invisible since St. Athanasius. I drove past that sucker for over a year before I realized it was actually there.
In theory, this majestic setup could be nice if they actually landscaped it and didn’t hide the church with a bunch of trees. Think St. Bridget. As it stands it’s just really confusing.
Still, Holy Family is pretty good, and I only wish I could show you more of it. But the Project’s camera had an untimely meltdown, so I couldn’t get any interior shots. Hopefully I’ll be able to go back and get them at some point, because they’re very much worth seeing.
Very nice.
Size Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Ornamentation Rating: 8 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 8 out of 10 crosses
