Good Enough for Horses

Some of the goals of Shadyside Presbyterian Church’s Building Community Capital Project include a welcoming fellowship space adjacent to the sanctuary, a recognizable Westminster Place entrance and easy, accessible circulation within the structure. The complexity of the pastor’s directions to the Parish Hall for coffee hour can be risible. The journey includes going outside, negotiating steep stairs or traversing the mysterious undercroft.The enclosure of the cloister courtyard accomplishes the goals, and in the bargain re-establishes an old north-south circulation axis.

For its first forty-five years, Shadyside Church consisted of the sanctuary building and the chapel joined by a colonnaded walkway, separated by a narrow space. The human scale of the present entrance opening to the street obscures its original purpose.In 1890, some would have arrived at the church by horse and carriage. It has been a matter of mild curiosity that there was no obvious porte-cochere – so common in that era.

A City of Pittsburgh plat plan was a hint that this amenity had not been ignored. It indicates a pathway through the colonnade between the church and chapel. Recently re-discovered site information and close inspection of an old photo seem to confirm that the present opening through the covered walkway extended down to street level. It provided a sheltered disembarkation at an east-end door of the nave. A moderate downward slope reached the location of the present Parish Hall for the carriage to wait or turn for exit.

By the 1930s, auto travel made the passage unnecessary or impractical. Addition of the chancel apse and office space made it impossible. The elevated floor level in the colonnade and the raised ground level between church and chapel allowed the original use to fade from memory.A new porte-cochere will be extruded toward the street from the existing segmental arch opening – shelter at the new Westminster door. The renewed circulation axis will extend through the atrium to ministry/business offices as well to a new stair tower to the Parish Hall and Christian Ed/Nursery School facilities. (The existing elevator offers alternate access.) At the head of the stair, a window will look down into the renovated Parish Hall. The atrium will not only be a pass-through, but a convenient gathering space after worship, with ample access to the welcoming Parlor.

The rediscovery of the original circulation axis pathway did not suggest its re-establishment. However the size, shape and location of the courtyard that replaced it did. More detail of the project plans are here. A now & then comparison.

Set design for "Shrek the Musical"

Sometimes it's not the sun bursting through the rose window, but another sphere entirely: The wrecking ball. A while back at the First Things blog, there was a tenderly written essay by Stephen Vincent about demolished neighborhoods in New York City.

I lived through Vatican II, receiving First Communion at the council’s close in 1965 and Confirmation in 1967, as the new Mass and other innovations got their sputtering starts. By 1969, the school and church along First Avenue were closed and another wrecking ball came crashing through the stained glass and fine masonry. The strongest support and sanctuary in a changing city had gone away, in the most violent fashion imaginable. The world, it seemed, had won.

It reminds me of that awful scene at the end of Schrek (I) where the dragon smashes the stained glass, after which I suppose all the kids in the audience are supposed to cheer.

For another heartbreaking tale of urban destruction, consider this characteristically insightful John J. Miller interview (who has a gift for asking good questions). The Little Pink House is a cautionary tale. I wonder how many churches have been destroyed under the aegis of eminent domain.

For all your Akron-Style Needs

I found this ad in the 1910 Baptist Yearbook, for help in converting your space to an Akron-like style. See how easy they are?

I would have posted this over here, but it's technically about England, and to our blog's geographical proscriptions we must be true.

The Shrine reports on a fire at the Chicago Cathedral. It's reason to stop and consider the sobering words of Nathan Glazer.

First Baptist Church of Hightstown, NJ

This church, where I served as choir director/organist/bell choir director for four years, was founded in 1745. It was the seventh Baptist church in New Jersey, and the fortieth in the nation (which wasn't even a nation yet). It was founded in Cranbury, where it met in members' homes. The church moved to Hightstown (just about four miles down the road) in 1784, upon agreement with the Presbyterians that Hightstown would be Baptist and Cranbury would be Presbyterian. They first met in a member's barn, and eventually built a meetinghouse downtown. This artist's rendering shows a steeple on the meetinghouse, but I don't think that actually ever happened, as one is not visible in this 1895 photograph (the brick church is the vine-covered building directly behind them).

Growing too large, the church built in 1856-1857 the present sanctuary, which seated about 600. The place where the organ is (a 1914 Austin) was added on, I believe, in 1881 when a Roosevelt organ was given by Wilson G. Hunt. The addition is the perfect time for the inclusion of the proscenium arch, which was common in the period and focuses attention to the pulpit area. Although today the walls are a plain yellow, this photo from the 1910s shows the extensive decorative work that was there, as well as the large chandelier that is no longer present.

The original steeple was very tall, as seen here and here. It is a classic Wren-Gibbs style church. The steeple was struck by lightning during a Peddie school program, and so in 1920 (I believe it was) a second steeple was built. This one has a slightly more Federalist look than before, and almost overpowers the building. That steeple was condemned in the 1950s because of weakness caused by the swinging of the bell, and the current one was built.

The church has recently completed a renovation of the sanctuary, so I will leave you with some pictures of the new space. The pulpit was extended into the room, and it was brightened up a bit with new paint and lights.

Interesting facts on inauguration churches.

A 19th Century Baptist on Architecture

At the second annual Baptist Congress of 1883, Dr. S.L. Caldwell, a former pastor, professor, and president of Vassar College, concluded a discussion on the merits of church architecture, especially for the Baptist ideal of the spoken word, with the following:

"...when we come to the exterior of churches I hold to what you may call the ecclesiastical idea. I don't like to see a church which is like every thing else, like all the buildings on the street, like all the public buildings. I like to have something uncommon, something which we have inherited, something which has come down with our Christianity; not a radical innovation, not some brand new thing which has been conceived by some rabid architect, but the old-style structure with its spire pointing heavenward, with the familiar form which marks it as the house of God, with the sign that it is set apart to the uses of religion, that is what I want to see."


Interesting, especially since they were meeting in the former theater, Boston's Tremont Temple.

Christ Among the People

Christ Among the People
Originally uploaded by millinerd

This was taken tonight at the American Boychoir School Christmas concert at the Princeton University Chapel. (Iconographical details available in the tags here.) The incarnation has many unforeseen implications. Merry Advent North American Churches readers!

Sold St. Nick

I wonder how the Hindus who have purchased the building will alter St. Nicholas in Edison. It'd be nice to get some pictures before we find out.

A curious list of unusual churches with some North American examples.

Praisebuildings.com may not be the Institute for Sacred Architecture, but it's at least interesting, with a nice dictionary of ecclesiastical architecture.

Upjohn in Maine

First Parish Chruch, Brunswick
Originally uploaded by millinerd

Over Thanksgiving I was reading the world's best Brooklyn guidebook, and I saw that the first church Morrone lists for Richard Upjohn senior is in Brunswick, Maine. (Incidentally, the "untold" Buffalo church viewable immediately below is also Upjohn.)

Fittingly, I happened to be spending Thanksgiving in Bruswick, Maine. So I marched down the street and got some shots, and then snuck in on my way out of town during choir practice for some interiors. Who knew Upjohn worked as well in wood as in stone? And the glorious intricacy of those hammer trusses (I think that's the term) sure do show off the medium.

The statue near First Church is of Joshua Morrison. He lived in the cross-inscribed house across the street.

Incidentally, I like Francis Morrone so much that even I'm considering enrolling in one of his courses. These two sound thrilling.

I was also pleased to discover that nearby beautiful Bowdoin College has a handsome Chapel that is quite central to campus. Bowdoin even goes so far as to suggest that Nature's Laws are God's thoughts. Naturally. Not just nature's laws, however, but even nature itself all began as God's thoughts. Hasn't anyone read Question 15 article 1?

Untold Beauty Indeed

There's an interesting article entitled Saving Buffalo's Untold Beauty in the New York Times, but I challenge you to find the word "church." The way the caption to above image reads, it's as if they don't even exist. The author suggests that "the architects who worked [in Buffalo] were among the first to break with European traditions to create an aesthetic of their own, rooted in American ideals about individualism, commerce and social mobility."

I suppose that take on Buffalo architecture leaves little room for "European traditions" like Christianity. To correct the record, here are some pictures, chock full o' churches, that I took this summer.

I'm embarrassed that it took me so long to discover the Institute for Sacred Architecture.

Wholy Wholy Wholy (Foods)

My friend Justin sends this along regarding Harlem's gentrification.

White people are also hoping to close down things that they do not like, specifically churches. With over 100 houses of worship in the area, white people are concerned. Though the article does not mention why white people are upset at so many churches, it can be implied that they would feel more comfortable if they were to be replaced with condominiums, yoga studios, and white people churches (also known as Whole Foods).

Sounds like a Harlem photo mission is urgent. Stay tuned for results from our recent Morristown, NJ mission.

The Wayside Chapel

The Wayside Chapel
I'm ashamed to say I left out the most significant church in Ontario. It's a bit cozy, but very direct.

It is reminiscent of the millions of even smaller "wayside chapels" in Greece.

(mostly) Catholic Canada

This summer, by visiting a few more churches, I finally completed my Ontario and Toronto sets (at least for now). There are many gems in downtown Toronto, but the prize goes to St. Michael's Cathedral (info). The building is alive with art and devotion in a way that, sadly, many Protestant churches in Toronto are not. But one contender to Catholic dominance is St. Anne's Anglican (info), which is decorated by everyone's favorite North American artist posse, the Group of Seven. Come on now, look at that! (I've gotta work on my white balance).

Strangely, my picture of Trinity Church (made famous from the Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions) got drafted for some mapping site called Schmapp. What is that Schmapp?

A trip to St. Marie among the Hurons afforded an interesting attempt at indiginous Catholic architecture. Notice the martyr shrine is an upside-down canoe. There is a remake of the Jesuit mission nearby (the martyr shrine is in the background). There are actual relics of the great Jesuit martyrJean du Brebeuf at both sites. Also, don't miss Tim's priceless comment.

The greatest surprise of the summer, however, was the exquisite church in Guelph (info). But as this site shows, to get the best pictures, it helps to actually live there. Canada too often gets left out of the game, but she's just too good to forget!

Expressing the Liturgical Impulse

David Bains, of Samford University, accurately names it the "Liturgical Impulse." In his dissertation and forthcoming book, he describes the rediscovery among mainline Protestant demonimations of the sacramental and liturgical expression in worship - including architecture. It took place in the early and mid twentieth century. This was an all too short episode in which worship orders moved away from sermon-centered and included meaningful response on the part of the congregation. This was more than so-called traditional worship. A few churches do it today, fewer do it well, and a few of those are blessed with appropriate architecture and worship centers.

At Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, a recent find revealed a part of the story of how its worship architecture came to be. See Undercroft Discovery

Nathan Glazer is right

Writing in his poignant book From a Cause to a Style, the eminent Harvard sociologist Nathan Glazer sums up our architectural predicament with sobriety:

"We can preserve the buildings of the past. We can't build them again. The language of the past can be admired and studied; its loss can be, and is, regretted; but too much has changed for it to serve us today. We are suspended between a language that cannot be used and a language - the language of modernism - that is unsatisfying for major public [and, I insert, religious] purposes, but for which we have no replacement."

But there is hope:

"It think the first steps toward a more satisfactory language have been taken. We have developed a proper respect for the achievements in public building of the past..."

And so, let's start a blog devoted to appreciating the great, and at this point unrepeatable achievements of North American church architecture. Oh wait, we already did.