Old Pine Street (Third, Scots and Mariners) Presbyterian Church
The oldest Presbyterian church building in Philadelphia
The Experience
The weekday entrance to this gracious Greek Revival-style church building is under the double staircase on Pine Street. When the office is open, you may ring to request a view of the sanctuary, which is hand-painted with stenciled symbols of biblical significance.
Stained glass and art nouveau windows date from the late 1800s. The church yard, containing over 3,000 graves, reflects three centuries of history. The westernmost area of the cemetery contains graves dating from the early 1700s, which were transferred in 1850 from First Presbyterian Church.
History
Old Pine, the third Presbyterian church in Philadelphia, was built of red brick in 1768. Pastor George Duffield was chaplain of the Continental Congress in 1774 and served with General Washington at Valley Forge. Old Pine was then occupied by the British, stripped of its pews and used as a hospital and a stable.
A renovation in the mid-1800s transformed Old Pine from Georgian to the present Greek Revival-style, covering the brick with stucco, dividing the interior into two floors and adding a large porch with Corinthian columns.