National Register of Historic Places

St. Peter's Episcopal Church

Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington
Listed
November 5, 1974
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
74001974

About this property

St. Peter's Church is a historic Episcopal church on Starr between 29th and 30th Streets in the Old Tacoma neighborhood of Tacoma, Washington, United States. It was built in 1873 and added to the National Register in 1974. Old St. Peter's Church was the first church built in Tacoma and is now Tacoma's oldest existing building. The first services were held on August 10, 1873. St. Peter's bell tower is unique. The bell was a gift from the Sunday school children at St. Peter's Church in Philadelphia. It arrived in October 1874, but the church in Tacoma had no belfry. Loggers cut off the top of a tree growing next to the church and a crew of sailors used the ship's rigging to hoist it up on the stump. The rings of the tree were counted when the tree was cut, revealing that it was over 300 years old. The tree claimed fame as "the oldest bell tower in America". The original tree stump was damaged by a windstorm in 1935 and had to be replaced.

Location

Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington
47.27414, -122.46367

Categories

RELIGION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Slavonian Hall
Industrial
0.2 mi
Beutel, Conrad F. & Annie K., House
Industrial
0.3 mi
North 23rd Street Bridge
Industrial
0.4 mi
Rust, William Ross, House
Industrial
0.5 mi
Stadium-Seminary Historic District
Listed
0.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was St. Peter's Episcopal Church listed on the National Register?

St. Peter's Episcopal Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 5, 1974.

What type of historic resource is St. Peter's Episcopal Church?

St. Peter's Episcopal Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for St. Peter's Episcopal Church?

The period of significance for St. Peter's Episcopal Church is recorded as the industrial era.

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