This week the Project travels to what is probably the most visible, well-known church so far, St. Adalbert. What, you say you never heard of it? Ah, but bear with me. Most Philadelphians are familiar with St. Adalbert, even if mentioning its name brings a puzzled look to their face. This church, you see, is literally located right of the west side of I-95. That prominent location, as well as its bright aqua roof and spires, make it highly visible to anyone driving along the highway. You’ve probably all seen it at some point without even truly realizing it.
St. Adalbert is the first member of what I like to call “Church Alley.” As if right on cue…
Church Project Theorem #7: Church Alley. This term refers to the seven-block radius along Allegheny Avenue, between Gaul and Thompson streets. That stretch is home to three, count ‘em, three Catholic churches: Adalbert, Our Lady Help of Christians and Nativity B.V.M. They’re lined up on Allegheny like cute like ducks in a row, and all are quite visible from I-95, although Adalbert is the farthest east and thus most prominent. And to think, I was amazed when they put TWO Catholic churches in the same area! Granted, only Nativity is a true territorial parish; Adalbert is designated as Polish, and Our Lady Help of Christians is designated as German. Still, it’s a pretty ballsy arrangement.
Upper v. Lower Church: Nativity has a case of the stupids and doesn’t hold mass in their upper church, (seriously, they weren’t even sure they’d do it for a visit from the Cardinal) so I’ve immediately crossed them off my list. As far as I know Our Lady Help of Christians has no such problem, so we’ll visit them at a later date.
My, I’m getting off track here. Back to Adalbert. It’s a large, if not huge, church that scores its points for design. As I mentioned, it’s notable for its bright aqua roof and matching aqua spires, which are really quite pretty. Part of me wants to think it’s just oxidized copper, but the color seems to bright and too uniform. If anyone who knows the church’s construction wants to clue me in, I’m all ears.
Inside, the church is very pretty, with a soaring, columned Gothic design. Because this is a Polish church, the paintwork is done in white with a variety of crazy, colorful Eastern-European style designs and patterns. The design is capped by one of the coolest altars we’ve seen yet, a huge, ornate job that stretches from the floor to the ceiling. We’ve seen a lot of pretty marble pieces before, but this deserves some credit because it’s made out of wood. Ok, wood might be easier to carve than marble, but still, this is pretty cool—big and bold, with a variety of intricate points, latticework, and religious statues, some of which are pretty large. It’s done in a dark color, accented by reds and golds, which makes an interesting contrast to the white plaster around it. Beautiful.
I should also mention the satined glass windows, which, true to Gothic design, are large and very ornate. Each one depicts a Saint in various poses. There is a particularly gruesome one of St. Michael the Archangel stabbing a demon that I assume is Lucifer. I don’t think I’ve seen blood inscribed so artfully on stained glass before.
LOOK FOR IT: Have you ever seen an aqua gargoyle?
Size Rating: 8 out of 10
Ornamentation Rating: 9 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 8.5 out of 10 crosses
