Christ Church Steeple Celebrates 250th Anniversary

Philadelphia, PA, July 07, 2004 - On June 3, 2004, Christ Church Steeple celebrated its 250th Anniversary with a fundraising dinner and award presentation and talk with David McCullough. The evening climaxed with the lighting of the steeple. The Christ Church Preservation Trust would like to thank all of its supporters for making this, by all accounts, a magical evening. Fundraising for the lighting project was completed in Spring of 2004. Contractors and consultants involved in the project include Beam and Vasoli Electric. Some interesting facts about the steeple: Benjamin Franklin organized the lottery to build the steeple; he thought of using the steeple to test his concept of lightning rods; Robert Smith, who has been called, "America's most important 18th Century architect", designed the towering spire, and work was started in 1751. In 1754 the steeple was completed and the famous bells, brought from England, installed. John Adams wrote in his diary of climbing the steep ladders of the steeple in 1776 to gaze upon the new nation.