309 - Preserving to Renew

Preserving to Renew
Mark L. Peckham

THE eight religious buildings on the accompanying pages were recently selected for special awards by the New York State Preservation League. With a long tradition of concern for the restoration of historic structures of all kinds, the League, since 1980, has sponsored a Historic Religious Properties division. At a public ceremony last April, Brendan Gill, drama critic of The New Yorker, presented the awards.

With reference to the line drawings taken from a large poster prepared by Mark L. Peckham, reading from left to right, top and bottom, the eight award-winners with their designations are as follows:

(l)Christ Episcopal Church, Duanesburg, an eighteenth century church which received an award for restoration and craftsmanship.

(2)Elmsford Reformed Church, Elmsford, an eighteenth century church, for outstanding restoration of early and later building fabric.

(3)St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Somers, a Greek Revival frame church, for stewardship.

(4)Eldridge Street Synagogue, New York City, an intact Lower East Side synagogue, for recognition of its historical and architectural significance and organized efforts to restore the structure.

(5)St. James Roman Catholic Church, New York City, a Greek Revival church, for preservation in the face of overwhelming odds.

(6)St. James A.M.E. Zion Church, Ithaca, a nineteenth century vernacular church, for exterior restoration.

(7)Blessed Sacrament Church. Albany, a late nineteenth century Catholic church, for exemplary energy conservation methods.

(8)Edgehill Church of Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx, a Presbyterian church designed by Francis Kimball, for stewardship and community outreach.

The League provides several useful items for those interested in similar projects. For example, a fine booklet on "How to Care for Religious Properties" is available for $1.50. This pamphlet gives hard to-find hints about roof and water control, masonry, wood, and stained glass, as well as contemporary problems of energy conservation and community cooperative use. Write: Preservation League of New York State, 307 Hamilton St., Albany, N.Y. 12210.