Funkstown – St. Paul’s Parish in Foggy Bottom

By Frank Leone

St. Paul's Parish Episcopal Church (2430 K St.) has a long history, with its original church built on Washington Circle in 1868. The current church was built in 1947-48, when the George Washington University prevailed upon the U.S. government to demolish the church’s original building to build the (since relocated) GWU Hospital. 

 St. Paul’s gothic style church on K Street. (F. Leone Dec. 2025)

St. Paul’s Parish was founded in 1866 and built its first church in 1868 at Washington Circle (917 23rd St. NW, now the block with Whole Foods grocery store). Prior to the construction of the church, the congregation met at Stotts Hall (20^th & I Streets), later Brown’s grocery store. Parishioners included Alfred B. Mullet, who as Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department was responsible for construction of the Eisenhower Executive Office building (currently facing the threat of white washing). Mullet was also the architect of several expansions of the old church and the parish hall, as well as the Mullet Rowhouses (2525 Penn. Ave. NW).

In 1944, the U.S government moved to condemn Square 54, which included the Church, and use the property to build a new hospital for The George Washington University. The Church filed a lawsuit challenging condemnation. The challenge failed, but the Church received $152,500 in compensation and was allowed to remove its pipe organ, pews, and other furnishings that were stored at government expense. Other residents of the block also sued unsuccessfully to stop their evictions. About 25% were African American residents who argued since the GWU Hospital would not admit them because of their race, government funds should not be used to build the hospital. The old church was demolished in 1944-45 and the congregation moved into the current building in 1948.

The Church’s interior, during services, illuminated by stained glass windows. (St. Paul’s Parish Facebook page, 2021)

 The current church was designed in the Gothic style by Philip H. Frohman, the architect of Washington Cathedral from 1921 until his death in 1972. St. Paul’s was built by W.E. Mooney & Co. The church is faced with irregular sized rectangular field stone and its tall vertical windows feature pointed arches. The back of the Church faces Snow’s Court.

A view of the original Gothic-style St. Paul’s Church on 23^rd St. in 1887. (Photo from Harold D. Langley, St. Stephen Martyr Church and the Community, 1968) According to a contemporary article the Church had “dominated Square 54 architecturally and spiritually for 75 years,” until its demolition in 1945.

Since its founding, the Parish has followed the Episcopal Anglo-Catholic tradition. For years, the Parish has had a strong musical tradition. It hosted the first vested choir (associated with a choral or sung service) in Washington and has a notable Schoenstein pipe organ (installed in 1995).

The Parish has been a good neighbor to the Foggy Bottom community, engaging in charitable activities. It also has hosted FBA meetings and events and houses the Foggy Bottom/West End Village office and its brand-new members’ lounge (see article in this issue).

For more information: See FBA House History Page for 2430 K Street and our Foggy Bottom Historic District Walking Tour Stop at St. Paul’s and the Manila House. Other Sources:  Spaulding, Dorothy, St. Paul’s Parish, Washington: 100 Years, Washington, DC, 1967; Kayser, Elmer Louis, Bricks without Straw: The Evolution of George Washington University, New York: Appleton Century, 1970; Deborah Cahill-Zelinka, "George Young , A Foggy Bottom Treasure," Foggy Bottom News, January 1984; “St. Paul’s Feels the Blows of Wreckers,” Washington Post, Feb. 9. 1945, p. 5; Foggy Bottom History Project.