Carrère & Hastings

In 1885 multi-millionaire industrialist Henry Morrison Flagler (1830-1913) initiated a grand scheme to turn Florida's east coast into the "American Riviera" and the city of St. Augustine into the "Winter Newport." He constructed and operated several hotels and businesses in St. Augustine, and he constructed the Memorial Presbyterian Church in 1890. It was designed by the Carrère and Hastings architecture firm.

John M. Carrère (1858-1911) and Thomas Hastings (1860-1929) were American architects of the late-19th and early-20th centuries who specialized in Beaux Arts architecture. The Carrère and Hastings firm designed more than 600 buildings, including the New York Public Library (1902-11) and the U.S. House and Senate Office Buildings in Washington, D.C. (1908-09). They were partners from 1885 until Carrère died in 1911. Hastings continued to practice, managing the firm until he died in 1929.

Carrere and Hastings began designs for the Memorial Presbyterian Church in 1888. Their Renaissance Revival design was inspired by St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. The firm of McGuire and McDonald was hired to supervise construction of the Church. The building was constructed using poured concrete mixed with local coquina. The Church includes a copper dome, terra cotta features, and Italian marble on the interior. The sanctuary was dedicated in 1890 as a memorial to his daughter, Jenny Louise Benedict. The Church includes a family mausoleum in which Henry Flagler is entombed along with his first wife, Mary Harkness, his daughter, Jenny Louise, and his granddaughter, Marjorie Benedict. The building was added to the National Register in 1983.

In addition to the Memorial Presbyterian Church, Flagler commissioned the Carrère and Hastings firm to design several other projects in St. Augustine. The Grace Methodist Church was constructed in 1886-1887 (National Register 1979). The Hotel Ponce de Leon, now part of Flagler College, was constructed in 1885-1887 (National Register 1975; National Historic Landmark 2006). The Hotel Alcazar, now known as the Lightner Building, was constructed in 1888-1889 (National Register 1971). Flagler's private residence, Kirkside, was constructed in 1893.

Source: Walter Howard Lee, The Flagler story and Memorial Church (Memorial Presbyterian Church Society), 1949. Memorial Presbyterian Church, http://www.memorialpcusa.org .

From the guide to the Memorial Presbyterian Church Architecture Collection, 1888-1904, (Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida)