Ohio Open Doors Event

Save The Date, September 12

St. Luke’s joins Ohio History Connection event on September 12.

GRANVILLE, OH— The historic St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will open its doors to visitors from noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, as part of the Ohio History Connection Open Doors event. The event is free and open to the public.  

Constructed in 1837, St. Luke’s Church is considered by many authorities to be one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, the first Granville structure to be so honored.  

Benjamin Morgan, a Welshman who had studied and trained in England, was the architect and builder of St. Luke’s and of the Avery-Downer House/Robbins Hunter Museum. He collaborated with Minard Lafever, a noted architect of New York, on the design of the interior. 

The church has been lovingly maintained. Worshipers today sit in the original hand-hewn wooden box pews, and enjoy musical offerings from both a magnificent organ and a Steinway grand piano on which Helen Keller experienced music by placing her hands and fingers on the strings, humming and singing along with the vibrations. 

Other historic items of note include Lafever’s ceiling centerpiece of molded plaster called the “Lafever Rose,” featuring acanthus leaves and other motifs, and a bronze chandelier, a Sinumbra Font design, believed to be one of two still in existence.

 St. Luke’s Church, Episcopal is a welcoming and inclusive community open for weekly worship services at 9 a.m. on Sundays. Learn more about St. Luke’s at st.lukesgranville.org.

The Ohio History Connection is a statewide history organization with the mission to spark discovery of Ohio’s stories. A list of the statewide events and activities is available at ohiohistory.org/opendoors. Robbins Hunter Museum and Granville Historical Society will participating in this event on other dates.