Washington D.C. Ward

Built from 1931-1933, the  Washington D.C. Ward chapel is still standing, although it serves a different congregation. This was a landmark chapel, with an angel Moroni on the top. The exterior photos in this post were submitted to me by a blog reader in the area.

A mosaic of the Sermon on the Mount is still over the entrance.

The chapel has some beautiful stained glass that was sold along with the building (unfortunately).

At the top are depictions of the North American, South American, and European continents.

Different floral depictions are along the body of the window, including the sego lily.

A great history of the chapel, along with many more interior windows, are published at this site. That is also where I pulled the images of the windows below. A ward anniversary program described them as follows: "The stained glass windows bring to mind salient points of Church history. The east windows picture the North American Continent, and the Hill Cumorah…and the Rocky Mountains where the Saints established themselves after their long persecutions. The south windows show the South American Continent and an ancient Mayan Temple recalling the early history of the Western Hemisphere as told in the Book of Mormon. The north windows portray the continent of Europe, sailing vessels of the early immigrants, and the barren plains crossed by the Pioneers, symbolic of the gathering of Saints to Zion.”

 It's disappointing that this beautiful landmark was sold, along with its windows. The building is aging and needs a lot of upkeep. If its future is ever threatened, I hope that steps are taken to preserve the building, or at least significant portions of it.