St. Luke's Chapel, 1892 – 1934

I went to St. Luke’s Chapel Sunday morning and enjoyed the service very much. It is just back of the girls’ club… and well heated. It is only plain boards, no paint, but has stained glass windows and back of the alter [sic] a lovely piece of Tapestry, so soft and beautiful in color (Anna McNulty Lester, 1898).

In a 1902 issue of the Parish Kalendar, the Church of the Holy Trinity reflected on early efforts by St. Luke’s chapel to meet the varied needs of its congregants:

Its work is so much more than the rendering of public worship. The work of any church, true to itself, true to its responsibility, must be more than worship. So St. Luke's stands ready to be a friend in whatever direction a friend may be needed. In this it is largely your trustee, to minister in trouble, sickness, need, or other difficulties [...] Its colony is practically an Anglo-American University in a foreign land, and St. Luke's is practically a University Chapel (cited in Allen 464).

The American Art Association of Paris (AAAP), which supported Rev. Newell's religious services and social endeavors, hosted a reception at its headquarters at 131 boulevard du Montparnasse for the Chapel's inauguration. The AAAP continued its relationship with the Chapel for several years (Allen 456). In describing the activities co-hosted by the chapel and the AAAP, Ann Merriman wrote in Quartier Latin that they were the "spiritual backbone to this busy community" (666). 

One of the chapel’s key initiatives was to maintain reading rooms for male art students in the neighborhood. The history of these reading rooms is intricately tied to the trajectory of the AAAP. First opened by the Newells at 19 rue Vavin, the reading rooms also provided Sunday evening social services before the idea of a chapel had even been conceived. Once the AAAP’s headquarters on the Boulevard du Montparnasse were established in 1890, the Vavin reading rooms were closed and religious services were moved to the temporary St. Luke’s space on rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs. When the AAAP vacated the Latin Quarter, Rev. Van Winkle created the "St. Luke’s Reading Rooms" in January 1901 at 14 rue de la Grande Chaumière. Since the Girls' Art Club had a well-stocked and frequently-used library, the St. Luke's Reading Rooms were reserved for men (Harper’s Guide to Paris 196). They were moved to 132 Boulevard du Montparnasse in May 1901 before closing in 1902, when the AAAP returned to the Latin Quarter. Unfortunately, the AAAP closed down for good in 1909, so the St. Luke’s Reading Rooms reopened in February 1910 at 70bis rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs, only to move once more in 1912 to 6 rue Huyghens, where they remained until the outbreak of WWI (Allen 477).

A brief 1911 article in Living Church described the modus operandi of these reading rooms:

Ten francs a year, less than $2.50, gives young men the right to turn in there, find warmth, a well-stocked library, the best newspapers and magazines, chess and other games, a pianoforte, and sociable company. As for the exhibition, the pictures on view were, as expected, not so much an exhibition of remarkable paintings as a collection of efforts and studies [...] Part of the proceeds of the exhibition sales are to go to the reading-room funds. One feels what a blessing such rooms must be for young men, strangers in a strange land. In return for the ten franc fee, each member receives a key; he depends on no one therefore to let him in. Accessible all day long and late into the evening, men can turn in there away from the discomfort of a cramped logement [...] (Wolff 155). 

Aside from the reading rooms, the Chapel's religious services and social activities made it a home away from home for so many young Americans in Paris. In September 1902, Geraldine Rowland documented the Chapel's centrality to the lives of the American student community for Harper's Bazaar: "... on Sundays, the Episcopal students come from various parts of Paris to make good resolutions. Or, as sometimes happens when Cupid interrupts the progress of art, they come to be married. Here as well are the children of the Quarter baptized" (758). 

Independent scholar John Crombie discovered that the St. Luke's ministry expanded beyond American students and "assumed a more dynamic role in the neighbourhood's daily life, manifested in a practical concern for the bodily welfare of [the] regiment of models. In 1904 it held the first of a regular series of Epiphany Festivals for child models in a large studio...graciously lent by Colarossi for the purpose" (111). Allen described the 1910 festival:

About 150 children were assembled in the large studio of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, kindly given for the festival by the management. As many as 150 more gathered to help and see the children made happy. Each child received a large bun, a package of candy, an orange and a gift - toys, dolls, and useful knitted articles prepared by the Sewing Society at Holy Trinity Lodge. The expense was largely contributed by students and artists (473).

Another description of St. Luke's from the 1912 book, Footprints of Famous Americans in Paris, best summarizes its impact on the student community and neighborhood:

St. Luke's Chapel is something one would not expect to find in the Quarter. It looks like a country church; and gives a Christian tone to the whole neighbourhood. [...] Here the preacher paws the air and popularizes and Christianizes principles of pagan philosophy. Here queer pictures, far from representing Calvary or the Way of the Cross, decorate the walls. Here some professional singer or fascinating female student of song entertains the audience with her thrills and her frills. A reception is held after the services. The preacher and the singer are congratulated; and newcomers are welcomed. It is a capital entertainment. American students celebrate national holidays, such as the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, Washington's Birthday, and Lincoln's Birthday. Nowhere else is the banner of the Stars and Stripes hung more profusely on the outer walls; nowhere else is the Star Spangled Banner sung with more enthusiasm. To make the Thanksgiving Day dinner as homelike as possible the Art Students' Club of New York has been known to send over American turkeys, while distinguished ladies of the colony have supplied cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, green corn, mince pumpkin, lemon and apple pies, and other eatables peculiar to the United States (Conway 245-246).

During World War I the property surrounding the Chapel had been converted first into a French military hospital, then an American military hospital, and, finally, the European headquarters of the American Red Cross. The Chapel building itself was used to house wounded soldiers. After the war, St. Luke's was reconsecrated as a religious institution, ministering to a new generation of Americans in Paris. By 1926, it was declared by a certain Dr. Paul Van Dyke the “spiritual heart of the Latin Quarter” (Allen 502). 

Since it was generally known that most St. Luke's initiatives catered to male students, Holy Trinity established a lodge for women at 70bis rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs in 1905. It included "[...] 'an apartment with studio attached.' This was to be a 'home-like gathering place for English-speaking women'" (cited in Allen 469). Headed by Deaconess Jessie Carryl-Smith, a graduate of the New York Training School for Deaconesses (NYH Euro, November 16, 1913, 2), the Lodge was an auxiliary to St. Luke's that included a medical ward for female students, an information bureau, reading materials in English and French, and a clothing bureau.

The whole place is charming – large and comfortable studio, where tea is served gratis to all American and English students, every afternoon between five and six o’clock, the picturesque court, with its old ivy-mantled tower, the cozy dining room, where coffee is served gratis to students every Sunday morning after the service at St. Luke’s Chapel; the wholesome and artistically furnished bed-rooms with windows overlooking the court, all combine to make Holy Trinity Lodge that which it is designed to be – a place of rest, recreation, and genuine home comforts (Leonard 6).

The Lodge gained popularity with the Anglo-American community in the neighborhood and quickly outgrew its original quarters, moving to more spacious accommodations at 4 rue Pierre Nicole, near the Observatoire, in 1906. Prior to its move, 37 women who suffered from a variety of ailments, some of which were quite serious: malaria, nervous breakdowns, typhoid, etc., had received treatment.

In 1907, the Lodge leased the large garden of a Carmelite convent on the rue du Val de Grace (Allen 476).

It is a little oasis of verdure such as dwellers in great cities keenly appreciate, and it has historical associations of the highest interest. [...] On the ground floor of the Lodge, which has a house to itself, is a large studio where Mr. Rubert Bunny holds a painting class daily [...] On a floor above, are two large rooms. One, called the reading room, is a marvel of taste and neatness [...] Beyond is a large studio available for portrait work between certain hours, and used for the Sunday evening religious services. Still higher, we come to the dining room and consultation rooms and the hospital. The first is a lofty cheerful apartment in which meals are served to about a dozen regular boarders. Across the hall is the hospital. [...] The Lodge also possesses a clinic (NYH Euro, June 24, 1907, 6).

Financial support from donor Helen Gould enabled the Lodge to expand its medical services in a larger space, which was inaugurated in 1907 with religious ceremonies, music, and tea. American ambassador Henry White and other dignitaries of the Anglo-American colony attended the festivities. The New York Herald European edition covered the event and reported on the hospital’s facilities and welcoming atmosphere:

There is an operating room, a sterilizing room, several private bedrooms, and a convalescing ward, which contains five beds. At present there is room in the hospital for eight patients. All is bright and white and clean. A glance at the rooms and a talk with the nurses are almost sufficient to make the visitor wish for illness and a period of attendance in such an inviting place (October 3, 1907, 6).

Two of the hospital’s eight rooms were reserved for men “[…] for it has been found that the condition of the men when ill is even more pitiful than that of the women, and the rooms are continually full” (Rev. Dr. Morgan quoted in NYH Euro, November 16, 1913, 2). The hospital was non-denominational and open to the entire English-speaking community in Paris. More importantly, care was dispensed free of charge. Those who could afford to pay were asked to make a donation.

By 1910, the hospital had treated 225 patients.

In later years, the Lodge expanded its other services to the American and British student community, adding a circulating library, an education department, a painting club, a choral club, and even a Bible class. The Lodge and St. Luke's jointly hosted annual Christmas-Epiphany events, featuring mass, carols, and feasts. There were also musical and social gatherings every Wednesday and various other parties with concerts. By 1911, the library boasted 8,000 volumes (Allen 479).

Art and artists were always central to the Lodge’s operations. In 1907, an Art League for women was formed, a rival organization to the American Woman's Art Association, housed at 4 rue de Chevreuse. Headed first by Elizabeth Nourse, then by Florence Esté from 1908 – 1913, the League sponsored annual exhibitions (mainly in February), which drew an average of 200 submissions, though only 75-100 were ultimately selected. In 1909, the League also organized a special exhibit of the works of New Zealand artist Frances Hodgkins. Each exhibition was inaugurated with an address by the American ambassador, a concert, and tea. In its last years, the opening events drew as many as 500 people. Open daily from 2pm-5pm, the exhibitions usually lasted for two full weeks and featured paintings, drawings and engravings, sculptures, and "objets d'art." These shows were often favorably reviewed in The New York Herald European edition, although many comments by male reviewers would be unacceptable from a modern perspective, i.e. "In the broad, vigorous treatment of the subject there is a seemingly masculine touch that, unsigned, few would attribute it to a woman. Bold the sweeping lines, vivid the color and strength of expression make this a remarkable picture" (said of the paintings of Cornelia Cowles, February 6, 1910, 6).

Although it had achieved great success and was a real resource for the American colony, the Lodge could not sustain itself long-term. Whether due to lack of funding or competing organizations in Montparnasse, it closed its doors in 1913. The opening of the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1910 had led to the consolidation of medical services for the American colony and contributed to Holy Trinity’s decision to shut down the Lodge. According to the New York Herald European edition, members of the Anglo-American colony in the Latin Quarter voiced their  “[...] consternation at the thought that an institution should be closed which for nine years had filled so important a place in the community and has indisputably been the salvation of many a suffering and unfortunate American student.” (November 16, 1913, 2). 

The loss of the Lodge’s medical services seriously impacted residents of the Left Bank: many claimed that the American Hospital in Neuilly was too expensive and required signed affidavits attesting to one’s poverty before treatment could begin. To address these concerns, the medical clinic at 4 rue de Chevreuse enhanced its services with the addition of a visiting nurse from the American Hospital. 

During World War I, Elisabeth Mills Reid transformed 4 rue de Chevreuse into a military hospital and St. Luke's Chapel was converted into a ward for convalescing soldiers (Congressional Record – House 1074). 

Religious services resumed at St. Luke's in 1919, six months after the Armistice, but a Vicar-in-Charge was not appointed until October 1920. A rapid succession of clergymen oversaw the Chapel's services and activities in the succeeding years. As St. Luke’s resumed ministering to the spiritual needs of the American community in Montparnasse, its managing committee sought new ways to expand the social headquarters "for the vicar and his student work" (Allen 652). The committee attempted to convince Elisabeth Mills Reid to build a second temporary structure as a clubhouse in the garden at 4 rue de Chevreuse but she refused, in part because she had spent a considerable amount of money restoring that garden after the war. 

By 1922, the Chapel’s social footprint had grown considerably so Holy Trinity secured a space for its own club at 107 Boulevard Raspail, not far from the St. Luke’s. It was inaugurated on Easter Monday, April 17, 1922, under the name of The American Students' Club (later it became the U.S. Students' and Artists' Club). Allen cites a description of the Club that had been published in the Holy Trinity Yearbook of 1922:

The rooms were crowded with organizers, students and artists. There is a large general room, a reading and writing room, a billiard room, and the Chaplain's office. In the basement will be a small gymnasium, with shower baths [...] The rooms are comfortably and attractively furnished [...] Its object is "to bring within its sphere of influence the greatest possible number of American and British students and artists" (653).

Student receptions and dinners followed by concerts were held in the assembly room at 4 rue de Chevreuse and also at this new clubhouse. Sunday evening concerts and Thursday afternoon tea dances brought together scores of young people. Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities were also major events in the community. In addition, St. Luke’s supported the medical clinic at 4 rue de Chevreuse, organized a sewing society, and established a partnership with the American Library in Paris. 

The clubhouse at 107 boulevard Raspail was enormously popular and quickly outgrew the space. Before exploring other options, Holy Trinity proposed an ambitious plan for "a 'complete church plant' on the Reid property" in 1926 (Allen 656). If they could convince Mrs. Reid to sell her land, they planned to overhaul a good portion of the property and add a new chapel, art studios, improved accommodations for 75 students, a cafeteria, a library, a gymnasium, and a new medical clinic. Though Reid did seriously consider Holy Trinity’s proposal, she decided that the American University Women's Club was the more worthwhile endeavor and declined to sell (Allen 656). Holy Trinity then focused its efforts on securing a new location elsewhere in the neighborhood.

Despite these protracted negotiations and the uncertain future of the Holy Trinity Clubhouse, the Little Tin Church remained a beloved part of life at the University Women's Club and in the larger Montparnasse community. Hope Mirrlees, a resident at the Club from 1922-1925, wrote at length about St. Luke's in her memoirs:

A little tin chapel was another of the ornaments of the garden – a humble vassal of the great American Episcopalian Church at the Etoile. On the principle of suave mari, it was very pleasant to sit of a Sunday morning in the arm-chairs of our comfortable study and listen to the strains of the Te Deum and of the Church’s One Foundation, and, particularly, to the scrapings and shufflings of the congregation as they performed the exhausting gymnastics entailed by the ritual of the Anglican Church. We were fond of that little chapel. It was certainly far from decorative, but it seemed as friendly as the Judas tree, and as much a part of the garden; though, from its vocal powers it had, perhaps, more in common with the innumerable cats who regularly held their concerts there every night of the week (93).

Holy Trinity began cementing plans in the late 1920s to transfer the entire St. Luke's enterprise to another location in Montparnasse. In 1929, the Church launched a fundraising effort centered on a "Student Property Campaign," an initiative to secure a large space where it could consolidate its religious and social work on the Left Bank (Chicago Tribune, April 29, 1929, 2, 8). In 1930, Holy Trinity found an ideal property: the Fondation Chateaubriand at 261 boulevard Raspail, which featured a centenary cedar of Lebanon and measured "[...] 4820 square meters with a frontage of 82 meters on the boulevard Raspail" (Allen 668). On April 1, 1931, Holy Trinity leased this massive estate for a term of 60 years and hired the American architect Welles Bosworth to design an edifice that would become The American Students’ Social Center (Delanoë 23), later renamed the American Students’ & Artists’ Center. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1932 and the building was opened on October 16, 1934. It housed a library, cafeteria, a billiard and ping-pong room, an assembly hall, artist studios, exhibition spaces, and a swimming pool.

While the new building and grounds were full of promise, a 1934 Parish Bulletin waxed nostalgic about the intimacy of the old Clubhouse at 107 boulevard Raspail:

[...] will the new club building, spacious, elegant, efficient, and completely satisfying as it is scheduled to be, be able to weld that strangely heterogeneous mass of spontaneous youth, middle-aged women, dogs, cats, babies, old men, and noisy children into one homogeneous whole, as 107 has so successfully done, and having done so, will one enjoy there, anything like that sense of vital, spontaneous, carefree informal life, that sense of absolute use, which for all of us who knew 107 spelt one word - HOME (Allen 675).

As time passed, its membership grew to seven hundred people who forged a vast community of shared interests and vibrant activities. The new center catered to the American colony until the onset of WWII, when the "building was taken over as French governmental offices [...] for the duration of the War" (Allen 684).

As for the Little Tin Church, its fate was quite different. Holy Trinity had planned to erect a chapel on the grounds of their new property and had already promised Elisabeth Mills Reid years earlier that it would dismantle St. Luke's. Though the exodus was planned before Reid’s death in 1931, a July 1933 letter from Rev. Frederick W. Beekman to Dorothy F. Leet, director of the University Women’s Club, explained why the move was delayed for several years:

I am a bit embarrassed in writing you this letter. You will recall that Mrs. Reid took up with me some time ago the date when we would give up the little chapel and vacate the premises [...] Owing to unforeseen delays [...] I am compelled to place the facts before you and to ask if you would be good enough to use your good offices with the officers of your association in granting us a little more time (Barnard College Archives).

Helen Rogers Reid, who had succeeded her mother-in-law, Elisabeth Mills Reid, agreed to extend the Chapel’s residency but asked that St. Luke's “pay taxes on their portion of the rue de Chevreuse/rue de la Grande Chaumière property, a request that had never been made before" (Allen 603), in order to stave off financial difficulties. Apparently, the Chapel's finance committee found this request to be reasonable and paid its share, 1,529.60 francs.

One year later, in a July 1934 letter to Dean Virginia Gildersleeve, another member of the University Women’s Club board, Rev. Beekman announced the formal closing of the Chapel:

On Sunday, the 22, will be held the last service in the 'little tin chapel' and we were planning to remove the building and its appurtenances during the week following. Of course, we shall take care of the expenses. Canon Belshaw, who is much au courant with the details involved and who is to be in charge of the moving will be in contact with Miss Leet within the next day or two [...] While I am writing I want you to know of the deep appreciation of the Vestry, including myself, for the uniform courtesy accorded us at all times by Miss Leet and the officers of Reid Hall since the last named have been the proprietors. We send you all out [typo for 'our'] best wishes for the continued success of your valuable center. Of course, Mrs. Reid’s memory will always be dear to us, as it was to our predecessors at the church and particularly to Dr. Morgan who, with Mrs. Reid entered into a real partnership for student work (Barnard College Archives).

In the summer of 1934, the baptistry, altar, lectern, and other Chapel accouterments were moved to the auditorium of 261 boulevard Raspail (Chicago Tribune, October 6, 1934, 2). A few months later, in October, the Little Tin Church was completely dismantled.