Inspirational Architecture

The City of Erie boasts a number of historic, awe-inspiring churches. Join us for a tour of four of these most impressive structures. Saint Patrick Parish was completed in 1906 and is the heart of what once was Erie's Irish community. The church is most known for the beauty of its stained glass windows and life-sized Stations of the Cross. The Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul is known for its Victorian Gothic architecture, as well as its many stained glass windows. Restoration of the church's stained glass windows was completed in 2002. Among the windows preserved is the Frederick Wilder Metcalf memorial window, an authentic Tiffany stained glass window. Several other windows exemplify the craftsmanship of Lamb Studios of Clifton, New Jersey, the oldest stained glass studio in the United States, in operation since 1857. The central tower of Saint Peter Cathedral, still dominant in the Erie skyline, stands 265 feet tall. The twin Norman style towers are 150 feet high. The central tower contains a chime of twelve bells cast in 1903 by the McNeeley foundry which weigh a total of fourteen tons. Built in 1986, the Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity accents the Erie skyline with its gold onion domes. Inside, the church walls are adorned with beautiful, hand-painted icons.

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