Church of the Saviour United Methodist Church

2537 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights; dedicated 1928. Gothic.

Exterior: The facing of this church is granite quarried at Weymouth (between Boston and Plymouth), Massachusetts. This stone is basically light gray and yellow-brown, but is somewhat darker and bluer towards the base. The colors of the blocks were originally chosen so that the effect would be an upward lightening in color. This particular granite contains quartz and plagioclase and orthoclase feldspar, as well as black, iron, and magnesium-rich minerals. This mineralogical composition indicates that it is a true geological granite. This particular granite is known for its color variations. This stone is seam faced, that is, the blocks were cut from planar sheets of stone that were split apart, rather than cut. This results in blocks with relatively smooth, but somewhat irregular surfaces. Thus, the stones have a more "natural" look than do stones with cut surfaces. The stone is set in a random ashlar pattern. Stone used for the base of the church, the upper portion of the bell tower, around the entranceway and windows, and other trim is Indiana limestone of two types: "Old Gothic," a coarser-grained variety, and "selected," a finer-grained variety. Old Gothic contains a variety of features and textures and is used to give new buildings an aged look. The limestone used for the base of the church is set in courses, in contrast to the random ashlar pattern of the granite blocks above. Sinuous, elongate trackways (trace fossils) are visible in the limestone steps of the entrances. The cornerstone is Indiana limestone, with an inset piece of very light-colored Jerusalem limestone (stone from the Bi`na Formation) from the subterranean quarries known as King Solomon's quarries, located in Jerusalem. The roof is covered with slate quarried in western Vermont. The slate includes the following commercial color varieties: unfading mottled green and purple, clear purple, unfading green, mottled gray black, weathering green, and rustics. The unfading varieties tend to remain the same color over time; the weathering types change color in time due to natural weathering. There is also sandstone flagstone, either Berea Sandstone or Euclid bluestone, around portions of the church grounds.

Interior: Pillars, arches, and window frames are Indiana limestone. The baptismal font is Carrara marble, a famous white marble quarried in the Carrara area of Italy. This particular variety has light gray veining. The window-like stone mural of a cross in the tower vestibule (1928) is fashioned from stone from around the world. The upright part of the cross is composed of (from bottom to top): red Numidian marble, quarried in northern Africa; Brazilian onyx; and Languedoc marble, a mottled red-and-cream colored marble quarried in south central France. The arms of the cross are Killarney Red, a red and white marble from Ireland. To the side of the cross, from top to bottom, are a white marble with gray streaks from the United States; triangular pieces next to the arms of the cross are yellow Siena marble from Italy; and next to the arms and above is Skyros marble, a white marble with brown veining from Greece. Below these are Paonazzeta (or, possibly Pavonazzeto) marble, a white and gray marble from India; Hejahn marble, a dark gray marble from Turkey; Famosa marble, a mottled red and gray marble quarried in the Wetzlar area of western Germany; and Verde Antique from Switzerland. And at the center of the bottom is Monte Aurata, a dark gray, red, and white marble from Uruguay.

Remarks: The stone buildings of ancient Jerusalem were fashioned from stone from the Bi`na Formation, the source of the cornerstone of this church. Church records show the close involvement of Masons (members of the American Masonic Brotherhood) with this church. Masons have long been interested in King Solomon's Quarry, and are known for bringing portions of the stone quarried there to the United States. (See, for instance, Anonymous, 1902).

References: Kilmer, circa 1978; articles in The Chimes (the church bulletin) in the 1920s.

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The Center for Sacred Landmarks Monograph Series
website design by Mark Hoffman


From the Center for Sacred Landmarks monograph: Guide To Stones Used for Houses of Worship in Northeastern Ohio (December, 1999) by . Joseph T. Hannibal. Published by the Sacred Landmarks Partnership of Northeast Ohio

Web page design by Mark Hoffman

The Urban Center
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
Cleveland State University
1717 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115

phone: (216) 687-9304
fax: (216) 687-9277
e-mail:petrone@urban.csuohio.edu (Susan Petrone)