Iowa Falls, IA - St Matthew's by the Bridge Episcopal Church

Iowa Falls, IA

The church was designed by Robert Layton who was an industrial arts teacher in Iowa Falls. He was born in England and when he visited his home country in 1912 he made sketches of several village churches. From these sketches he drew up the plans for St. Matthew's. Louis and Ernie Weldon, two of his students, assisted with making the blueprints.

The building is located along the Iowa River. Because of its rather precarious location, parishioners often refer to the church as St. Matthew's on the Brink. It is a wood frame structure that is rectangular in shape and measures 60 by 24 feet (18.3 by 7.3 m). The exterior is covered with stucco and the gable ends give a simple simulated half-timbered effect. An addition with a shed roof was added onto the rear of the church in the 1960s to provide space for the vicar's study, classrooms, and storage.

The interior remains basically unchanged since it was first built. The altar is along the east wall of the sanctuary. The aisle is left of center with the pews along the north wall. The structural system on the inside consists of King posts, Queen posts, collar beams and struts which enhance the vertical character of the space. The stained glass window over the altar depicts the Ascension of Jesus and was added in 1965. Four other windows depicting Apostles were added between 1980 and 1987. The building is significant for its simple design in the Tudor Revival mode.

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Oak St & Railroad St
Iowa Falls, IA 50126

Hardin County, IA


Hardin County, IA

Visit our county page and you will find information about our town and county's points of interest, festivals/events and faith community. You also will find stories about the contributions made by farmers/ranchers located throughout our county and of course you will learn about the community organizations that have built and continue to build strong communities (chambers, community groups, and departments, etc) and much more when you visit the Hardin County, IA page.