National Register Listing

St. Mark's Episcopal Church

315 E. Pecan St., San Antonio, TX

St. Mark's Episcopal Church is today a downtown San Antonio complex spanning a century of architectural evolution, anchored by an early Gothic Revival style sanctuary designed in 1859 by master architect Richard Upjohn of New York. Completed in 1875 after prolonged wartime and Reconstruction delays in construction, the church later expanded to the current configuration with 1926-27 additions of a Parish Hall and Education Building designed by the Alfred Giles Company and Albert Felix Beckmann, and 1949 narthex, bell tower, and cloister additions to the sanctuary designed by architect Henry Steinbomer. The historic additions display variations on Gothic detailing and reflect the evolution of St. Mark's as an institution, particularly as its role in the religious community of San Antonio greatly expanded during the early 20th century. With its timeless limestone walls, art-glass windows, projecting buttresses, steep roofs, and angled walls, the 1859-1875 sanctuary is an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture in a 19th century church building, as well as the only building designed by master architect Richard Upjohn in the state of Texas. The sanctuary today is somewhat modified from the Upjohn design and original construction, but combined with historic additions connecting as one significant interrelated complex, St. Mark's Episcopal Church meets National Register Criterion C in the area of Architecture at the local level, and within a period of significance extending to 1951.

Bibliography
Barnes, Lavonia Jenkins. Nineteenth Century Churches of Texas. Waco, TX: Historic Waco Foundation, 1982.

Brewster, Olive Nesbitt. SL Mark's Church 1943-1973. San Antonio: St. Mark's Church, 1973.

Carson, Chris, AIA and William B. McDonald, AIA, ed. A Guide to San Antonio Architecture. San Antonio: San Antonio Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, 1986.

"Common Bond: The Gothic Revival." The New York Landmarks Conservancy: American Religious Buildings: On-line: http://www.preserve.org/nylc/gothic.htm. 1997.

"Common Bond: Trinity Church." The New York Landmarks Conservancy: On-line: http://www.preserve.org/nylc/trinity.htm. 1997.

Ferguson, John C. "St. Mark's and St. James': The Upjohns in Texas." Texas Architecture (July/August 1983): 57-60.
Local significance of the building:
Architecture

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.