As part of the Lebanon Valley Council on the Arts' First Friday Art Walk on Oct. 4, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 22 S. Sixth St., Lebanon, will host an open house with tours and a presentation. The open house with tours will be from 5 to 8 p.m., and the presentation, at 6:30 p.m., will focus on the architecture, renovations, and history of the current church building. This year marks the 145th anniversary of the laying of the building's cornerstone.

The open house and presentation mark the successful completion of an extensive capital improvement project designed to improve building access and the church's facilities.

"St. Luke's was a gift of the Coleman family to the Lebanon community," said Wiley Parker, chairman of St. Luke's Capital Campaign Committee. "Keeping with that spirit, the work done reflects the generosity and commitment of St. Luke's parishioners in making our church and facilities more accessible to the community for all sorts of events, while preserving the priceless art and architecture of the building."

Robert "Bob" Hoffman, principal emeritus at Beers Hoffman Architecture, will deliver the 6:30 p.m. presentation, which will explore the unique High Victorian Gothic architecture of St. Luke's as well as showcase the history and completed renovations. Hoffman led the team of architects in designing a new accessible bell tower entrance as well as the complete renovations to the kitchens, restrooms, and other meeting facilities in the administrative wing of the church. Arthur Funk & Sons served as the general contractor of the project.

Completed in October of 1880, the current St. Luke's Episcopal Church building was a gift of Robert H. Coleman in memory of his recently deceased wife, Lilly, who was interred in the church's crypt before construction was completed. The building was designed by New York architect Henry Martyn Congdon in the High Victorian Gothic style. The building is in the form of a Latin cross and was constructed of native bluestone and sandstone. It measures 116 feet long and 75 feet wide, and it features a square, 85-foot tower with an octagonal turret. The roof is covered in rows of blue and red slate. Features of the building include prominent stained-glass windows, exposed wooden rafters, stone mosaics, and carved stone columns.

St. Luke's Episcopal Church is located across the corner from Harding Elementary School. For details and parking information, readers may visit https://stlukeslebanon.org/open-house/.