ST. JOHN’S CATHEDRAL

Savannah, GA

The British Charter of Savannah prohibited Roman Catholics from settling in the city, fearing they would be more loyal to the Spanish presence in Florida than to the Crown. But after the Revolution, French Catholics established the first church in Savannah, then known as the Congregation de Saint Jean- Baptiste. Like many other early urban churches, they started small, moved from location to location, endured fire and hurricane, and finally ending up at their current location on Lafayette Square. The church (later designated a Cathedral by Pope Pius IX) was designed in 1870 by Ephraim Francis Baldwin, a Baltimore architect known for his work on catholic churches. The stuccoed brick structure was dedicated in 1876, sans steeples, which were added in 1896, only to be followed by a devastating fire in 1898.

My google search for "grand churches in Savannah" led me to St Johns, which was just around the corner from our hotel. I miscalculated the building's orientation, which was facing west, so the facade sketch not only missed the morning sun, but the sun was in my face as I worked. Notice the symmetry of the facade - classic French Gothic. On a horizontal line level with the peak of the center gable, also notice the minor asymmetry of the detail of the two towers. Whether intentional or not, we'll never know. But I had earlier learned that this subtle play with asymmetry was a signature of architects of mediaeval times - see Notre Dame, Paris.