The committee chose the present site of the church and selected Philadelphia architect Thomas Somerville Stewart to design the structure.

As Spear noted at the 57th Diocesan Convention: "The wisdom of the location [is] best attested by the fact that throughout the winter its services have been attended by numerous and generally crowded congregations and its temporal interest has already reached a degree of prosperity scarcely anticipated.

[5] Further cost-cutting measures were considered, including eliminating the paid choir, reducing salaries of the rector, and contracting the number of weekly services.

The Harrison addition (now known as the Furness Chapel) opened for services on November 7, 1875, and was formally consecrated by Bishop William Bacon Stevens on December 14, 1875.

Their contributions even allowed the church to purchase a farm in Delaware County, near Broomall, where the congregation could retire on weekends or during the summer for social activities and outdoor chapel.

Steele spoke out against the Pennsylvania blue laws and was an active supporter of the repeal of the "Eighteenth Amendment" to the U.S. Constitution for the Prohibition of alcohol.

As reported in The New York Times, "Because of the population drift away from the center of the city, where his church is located, and congregations in that area had been losing membership steadily.

"[20] Steele remained connected to the Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany after his retirement; the vestry granted him the title Rector Emeritus with an accompanying salary.

Together, they made several attempts to provide for the needs of the deteriorating neighborhood, including a possible merger with St. James Church, an Episcopal parish once located at 22nd and Walnut Streets, to form a church-based community center in 1935, as well as a partnership with the city's Social Services Department.

Newton authored more than thirty books and published a popular weekly column in the afternoon paper "Philadelphia Bulletin", which had the largest circulation in the city.

In February 1969, Isacksen proposed that the church build a senior housing development at the corner of 13th and Pine Streets with assistance from the federal government.

[24] As part of the church's response to the AIDS crisis, St. Luke and The Epiphany opened The Hospitality Center in 1989 under the direction of Sister Kathleen Snyder.

Pilasters with capitals finished in gold leaf around the perimeter are based on a Greek-style adaptation by the New York architect Minard Lafever and published in his pattern book, The Beauties of Modern Architecture (1835).

[27][28] The church was designed by Philadelphia architect Thomas Somerville Stewart; it is acclaimed as one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture surviving in the city.

[29] Stewart's design was chosen over six other plans submitted by several prominent architects, including William Strickland and John Notman.

Without pretending to give a detailed description, we state that above the floor every thing, even to the glass of the windows, is of a pure white, and in every section of the church is introduced the richest and most elaborate carving and molding in wood and plaster.

The renovation of 1906 by Wilson Eyre Jr. achieved the current look of the chancel; the tile floor and choir stalls were installed at that time, as well as an enlarged narthex with new doors and windows.

Armed only with that assessment and rough estimates for the project, the vestry and clergy hired a fund-raising consultant and rallied a team to spearhead the first capital campaign in decades.

Over three months of intense, one-on-one meetings with parishioners and regular updates during services, the campaign generated $500,000 in three-year pledges from the congregation.

By the end of that summer, the designers crafted a plan to entirely remove the roof and lower into place 50 prefabricated lightweight wood trusses.

[34] The chapel and parish house on the south side of the church was designed by Furness & Hewitt and was built in 1875[35] with a donation from George L. Harrison, a warden on the vestry.

The walls are detailed in plaster to give a paneled look reminiscent of rusticated stone construction and are painted in colors characteristic of the Victorian era, such as sage green and maroon.

As the space is constructed with a clear span, the ceiling is vaulted with a large skylight at its apex and is painted a deep blue and accented with gold-painted stars.

When the Austin was built, the romantic era of organ building was in its prime; its tone was dark and rich with various beautiful orchestral stops.

Despite space and funding limitations at the time of the rebuild, The Church of St. Luke and The Epiphany now has an organ that serves the needs of the parish and the community.

[59] The Philadelphia Inquirer described the building as a "handsome new chapel;" constructed from rough-faced gray granite with limestone for all details, tracery and interior structure.

The anticipated growth of the surrounding neighborhood never materialized, however, and in 1915 the vestry voted to sell the parish house and Sunday school buildings.

[61] St. John Chrysostom, an Albanian Orthodox Church, began renting the building for services shortly thereafter, the congregation finally bought the chapel in 1946 for $22,500.

The Church of the Ascension, 1112–1118 Lombard Street, was designed by noted Philadelphia architect Thomas Ustick Walter for the Episcopal parish of All Souls in 1834.

However, with the construction of St Luke's much larger church a few blocks away and the area becoming popular with black families,[64] it struggled along for many years beset by a lack of members and financial support.