Church of the Advocate, Northwest corner of Eighteenth & Diamond Streets, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Significance: It is the consummate example of French Gothic Revival architecture in America dating from late in the 19th century. While the sanctuary's unique form drawn from a variety of French sources is significant in its own right, the church's lavish decorative program vaults the structure forward as one of the nation's finest religious edifices. In a Ruskinian mode, skilled artisans were given free range in sculpting and carving the high gothic foliage, figures, pinnacles, crockets, geometric patterning, and furniture. The church's lavish architectural ornament is exceeded only by its nearly seventy stained glass windows designed by a preeminent English firm and comprising a full complex program unmatched by other period ecclesiastical construction...
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N432
Survey number: HABS PA-6672
Building/structure dates: ca. 1890- 1900 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 80003620