Calvary Episcopal Church was founded on December 24th, 1860 by members of the Sehon Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. The cornerstone of the original octagonal structure was laid in 1872. Completion of the rest of the church, resulting in a variation of a classic Latin cross plan, began in 1888 and was concluded with electrification and gas heat in 1892.

 

Calvary is in the Victorian Gothic Revival style with limestone exterior. The South Tower was the only cut-stone spire in the US until 1943. The North Tower is crowned with a bishop’s crook (crozier), although Calvary did not become a bishop’s seat.

 

The church has a wealth of stained-glass windows and woodwork, some of which hail from Tiffany Studios. Other aspects represent a variety of periods and styles. The ceiling of Norwegian spruce is patterned after the 14th century hammerbeam roof of Westminter Hall in London.

 

Calvary has had many additions and alterations since its construction, including installation of a magnificent Casavant organ with exposed pipes in 1965, and Victorian-period Stations of the Cross in 2012.