Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/212

 176 Sloan's Architectural Review and Builders' Journal. Fig. 2. The front of this block would present a very pleasing and agreeable effect, if it were constructed of pressed brick, relieved with white marble trimmings, and quoins on the four corners. DESIGN FOR A GOTHIC CHURCH. THIS design was originally intended for a Methodist Episcopal Church, near Philadelphia, now being erected, but differing in many material respects from the primary conception. It is, as will be seen, in the Gothic style of architecture, one peculiarly appro- priate for and applicable to ecclesiastical edifices. The most prominent and striking characteristic of this style is the pointed arch, hence it is often spoken of under the broad term of Pointed Architecture. Its origin has been a fruitful source for discussion ; volumes have been written on the subject ; and still it remains an open question. Some have attributed it to Saracenic origin ; others again trace it, by slow degrees, from the corruptions introduced into Grecian architecture by the Ro- mans ; more especially from the pre- vailing use of the arch. Whatever, though, its origin may have been, it stands unrivalled, as the style of all others, peculiarly adapted to church architecture, combining, as it does, in such a felicitous manner, the beautiful and the simple, the bold and the picturesque. The whole contour of