September 28, 2019
Washington DC
Diana & Kirk
History of St. John's Church
St. John’s Church, circa 1815, stands opposite the White House and is known as the “Church of the Presidents.” President James Madison first attended-- his pew # 54 remains reserved for any President. During the Civil War Abraham Lincoln often quietly slipped into St. John’s last pew. Every president since Madison has attended a service.
The architect of this National Historic Landmark was Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who helped rebuild the U. S. Capitol and the White House, when destroyed in the War of 1812. In the adjoining landmark parish house US Secretary of State Daniel Webster negotiated the historic 1842 Canadian border treaty.
St. John's Church's stained-glass windows are regarded as outstanding examples of painted glass from the nineteenth century. In the 1880s Madame Lorin, Curator of Glass at Chartres Cathedral in France, designed more than twenty of St. John’s glass windows including the unique vertical replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper above the altar.
For all the days along the way