Sacred Spaces, Downtown Pittsburgh

First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh is a majestic old building.  The church has a storied past, too.  It's the oldest religious congregation in the city, with roots going back to General John Forbes' capture of the French Fort Duquesne in 1758.  Forbes was a Scotsman, so his chaplain was naturally a Presbyterian.  The chaplain conducted services, and a small congregation grew out of it.

Click on this photo to enlarge it.  The wooden wall behind the high altar opens when the pipe organ begins to blare at the start of the Sunday service, revealing a large choir area that otherwise remains hidden.

This view is from the chancel area, looking toward the main entrance on Sixth Avenue.  The great old organ is in the loft above the door.

These are all Tiffany windows.  That's what the building is most known for.  I'm glad that they keep it open on weekdays.  I do drop in whenever I've got time to spare downtown.  You often find the odd urbanite sleeping in a pew, or resting, or praying.  It's an island of serenity amid the bustle of the city.  Stillness, solitude, silence, reverence.  Where do you find these things?  I know them best in the forest, but beautiful sacred buildings are a nice second-best.

A very old cemetery--Pittsburgh's first--stands between the Presbyterian church and the Episcopal cathedral.  This is the headstone of a certain Red Pole, a Shawnee chief who is buried among the white settlers.  

The Shawnee moved around a lot.  I believe they were originally from the area that we now know as Kentucky and Tennessee.  But by the 18th century, there were many in Western Pennsylvania.  Click on this photo to read about old Red Pole.

The oldest grave I found here belonged to one Samuel Dawson, who died in 1779.  I've heard that there are older ones.

And here they lie still, in their long-rotted tails and gowns and wigs, with a 21st century downtown swirling about their mute repose--the forebears of a now declining empire.

This is the interior of the Episcopal cathedral, which shares the churchyard with First Presbyterian.  You see how early America worked?  The Church of England and the Church of Scotland side-by-side, presiding over the dead.  It's a cathedral in name, but far less grand than many other Episcopal and Presbyterian churches in the city.  It's far humbler than its next door neighbor, too--less original, less grand, considerably smaller.