Hagen History Center's Sacred Spaces Tour combines architecture, religion, history of Erie
The architecture will include Tudor and Gothic, the locations will include the bayfront and Federal Hill, the history will include Polish and German immigrants, and the faiths will include Russian Orthodox, nondenominational, Catholic, Lutheran, Pentecostal and Episcopal.
The Hagen History Center is bringing back its Sacred Spaces Tour on Saturday with stops at Erie churches, including one that was a former Jewish temple.
"It's not just about architecture and religion," Caleb Pifer, executive director of the history center, said. "People will walk away with a greater understanding of where they live."
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Because many of the churches were tied to ethnic neighborhoods, tour participants will hear about how the houses of worship got started, Pifer said. He said some ethnic groups lived in certain parts of the city because of the work they did, so attendees will also learn about early Erie industries, such as shipbuilding or fishing.
"There will be church volunteers on hand at each location to talk about the history and act as a guide," he said.
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Pifer said a similar tour was held about eight years ago and people requested another. This one includes sites with unique features or that may be new to people, he said.
The tour will run Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., although some sites have shorter hours. At least 10 stops are planned, with more to possibly be added. Pifer said it's a self-guided tour with churches located in three groups or zones. He said the tour is designed so people could conceivably drive to a zone and walk among the tour stops in that group.
Maps and admission wristbands will be available Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. at the Carriage House Gift Shop on the Hagen History Center campus, 356 W. Sixth Street. Cost of the tour is $10 for history center members and $15 for nonmembers.
For information, call 814-454-1813 or visit www.eriehistory.org/events/sacred-spaces-tour.
Group 1
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Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity, 247 E. Front St. Overlooking Erie's bayfront, the original domed church was completed in 1919, destroyed in a 1986 fire and then rebuilt.
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New Life and Spirit Revival Center, 315 E. Ninth St. This site will only be open from noon to 3 p.m. The nondenominational Erie ministry purchased the former St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church building in 2017.
St. Hedwig Catholic Church, 521 E. Third St. Established in 1911, this Tudor Gothic church building is a dark rose and beige faceted stone edifice with a slate roof.
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St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, 516 E. 13th St. Constructed in the 1890s, the church was built to serve Polish families on Erie's east side.
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Group 2
Luther Memorial Church, 225 W. 10th St. One of Erie's larger Lutheran parishes, this church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2011.
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St. Peter Cathedral, 230 W. 10th St. The mother church of the Catholic Diocese of Erie, the Gothic cathedral in downtown Erie dates to the 1870s and has a 265-foot steeple with four clock faces.
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Christian Ministries of the Apostolic Faith Church, 930 Liberty St. Affiliated with Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith Inc., the church is located in the former building of Temple Anshe Hesed, Erie’s Reform Jewish congregation, which moved to a new building in 2018.
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Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul, 134 W. Seventh St. The cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania has ties to both U.S. Civil War Brig. Gen. Strong Vincent and internationally known baritone, arranger and composer Harry T. Burleigh.
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Group 3
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St. Joseph Catholic Church, 147 W. 24th St. This site will only be open from 11 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. With a cornerstone laid in 1882, the church has altars that were hand-carved in Germany.
St. John's Lutheran, 2216 Peach St. Founded by German immigrants in 1808, St. John's is mother-church of the Lutheran congregations of Erie, although its brick building in the Federal Hill neighborhood wasn't built until several decades later.
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Dana Massing can be reached at dmassing@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie, PA, Sacred Spaces Tour combines architecture, religion, history
