Grace Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg, Flodia was designed by architect John Randal McDonald and was dedicated in 1961.
A native of Milwaukee, McDonald studied fine art at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and architecture at Yale University. McDonald was heavily influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose Taliesin studio was located in southwestern Wisconsin. The form of modernist architecture practiced by McDonald has been referred to as "organic modernism." He operated offices in Wisconsin and later Florida. Most of McDonald's early work was residential architecture, but after his move to Florida he expanded his work to civic and institutional projects such as Grace Lutheran Church.
McDonald's design for Grace Lutheran Church incorporated natural materials including such woods as African mahogany and California redwood and stone locally sourced from Bradenton, Florida. The design of the church evokes the prow of a ship, with the largest wing rising 74 feet from a reflecting pool, and symbolizes "man's rising above ignorance."
Sources:
"Symbolism Predominates in Church Architecture," St. Petersburg Times, March 4, 1961.
"John Randal McDonald," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Randal_McDonald.
A native of Milwaukee, McDonald studied fine art at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and architecture at Yale University. McDonald was heavily influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose Taliesin studio was located in southwestern Wisconsin. The form of modernist architecture practiced by McDonald has been referred to as "organic modernism." He operated offices in Wisconsin and later Florida. Most of McDonald's early work was residential architecture, but after his move to Florida he expanded his work to civic and institutional projects such as Grace Lutheran Church.
McDonald's design for Grace Lutheran Church incorporated natural materials including such woods as African mahogany and California redwood and stone locally sourced from Bradenton, Florida. The design of the church evokes the prow of a ship, with the largest wing rising 74 feet from a reflecting pool, and symbolizes "man's rising above ignorance."
Sources:
"Symbolism Predominates in Church Architecture," St. Petersburg Times, March 4, 1961.
"John Randal McDonald," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Randal_McDonald.