Parkside Chapel

The east façade of the Parkside Chapel features architectural details such as stone buttresses, brick-surround arched windows, and decorative stained glass.
Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office / Photo, David Coulter

Located near Henryville, in Paradise Township, Monroe County, Parkside Chapel stands as an architectural reminder of the growth of the Pocono Mountains region as a popular destination for affluent outdoorsmen and vacationers in the late 19th century. Following the American Civil War, logging was the leading industry in the region; however, as the forests were quickly being depleted, it became clear to many locals that the economy would need to pivot to survive. At the same time, more and more wealthy tourists from cities like New York and Philadelphia began to discover the Poconos as a place of retreat with beautiful natural areas for outdoor recreation and bountiful rivers and streams for fly fishing.

Expansion of the railroads into the region soon made it possible for relatively short trips from New York and Philadelphia. At one point in the 1880s there were five trains a day departing New York for the Poconos. Although many of these wealthier Gilded Age tourists were traveling to the wilderness to escape the hustle and bustle of their lives, they also had high expectations for the standards of accommodations once they arrived. These expectations helped launch a golden age for the tourist resort industry in the region.

While the era saw the growth of large and famous resort hotels, such as the Kittatinny Hotel that once stood near the
borough of Delaware Water Gap overlooking the river, the region also saw the establishment of numerous smaller resort hotels that catered to big city tourists and outdoorsmen. In Henryville, two local lodges, Henryville House and Park House, were established. Henryville House, listed in the National Register in 1987 but later removed in 2004 after being largely demolished, became a popular local resort, boasting prominent anglers and authors and President Grover Cleveland among its patrons. As guests of the famous Kittatinny Hotel had established their own on-site chapel known as the Church of the Mountain, so too did guests and locals in Henryville provide similar religious accommodation for visiting seasonal residents.

Wood paneling and an apse adorn the interior of the chapel.
Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office / Photo, David Coulter

Located within a half mile of both Henryville lodges, the nondenominational Parkside Chapel was completed in 1894. Though constructed in a vernacular style using local materials, the Parkside Chapel was heavily influenced by the Richardson Romanesque style that was popular in that era. The original Romanesque style itself was influenced by ancient Roman architecture’s massive presence using features such as stone, arches and semicircular barrel vaults. At Parkside Chapel, this influence can be seen in the chapel’s use of stone and brick masonry, tall arched windows, and stone buttresses on the exterior of the building. The chapel’s 13 arched windows are also framed with rows of brick, creating the polychromatic appearance that is often found in the Romanesque style. Inside, the chapel also features decorative wood paneling, carved trusses, and an apse with a raised alter.

Today, the nonprofit Parkside Chapel of Henryville owns and maintains the chapel and holds nondenominational services each Sunday from May through September. In 2011–12 the organization raised funds and support for a thorough rehabilitation of the building.

In 2020 the Parkside Chapel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria C for architecture as a locally significant Victorian-era vernacular rural chapel with Romanesque-influenced details and features.

Recent listings in the National Register of Historic Places include International Harvester Co. of America Pittsburgh Branch House, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County; Overbrook Gardens Apartments, Philadelphia; Riverview Park, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County; United Steelworkers Local #1211 Union Hall, Aliquippa, Beaver County; and West Philadelphia Passenger Railway Co. Carhouse, Philadelphia.

David Maher is a historic preservation specialist who reviews National Register nominations in the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office.