For some reason, back in October of 2014 when we visited the former Monticello Women’s College, we totally missed the former Godfrey Congregationalist Church, just to the south of the of the main buildings. It’s a bit confusing but it seems to have also served Presbyterians and the Dutch Reformed churches, as well.

Built in 1854 by Benjamin Godfrey to serve as the chapel of his women’s college. It’s an absolutely stunning example of the Greek Revival, and even more amazing that it is a wood frame church of such large size still surviving extant for such a long period of time.

Featuring a front portico in the Doric Order that would make the builders of the temples of Paestum proud, it does deviate from true Greek architecture and veer towards the Roman in that the colonnade does complete envelope the cella, or sanctuary. Two pilasters truncate the portico instead, and also bracket the end of the building in the rear.

Even more rare, the columns are in fact fluted and even possess the gentle tapering of the shaft. They are truly remarkable and it is amazing to have such a beautiful church surviving so close to St. Louis. Most churches from this era in St. Louis were demolished as the city’s center transitioned to office buildings and skyscrapers in the early Twentieth Century.