Tag Archives: churches

Interesting Church Buildings (and Where to Find Some!)

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For the past couple of months we’ve looked at fun architecture – octagon houses, geodesic domes, diners, cobblestone buildings, railroad stations and more – and where you can find some interesting ones within a reasonable drive. This week we look at that ubiquitous feature of the landscape in western culture – churches.

“Where there is a church, there is civilization,” says Lord Peter Wimsey in The Nine Tailors. But they’re so commonplace that unless you’re specifically interested, you probably pass on by without noticing.

Some, though, cry out to be noticed. Arch Merrill called Bath “the grande dame of the Southern Tier,” and two monumental 19th-century churches buttress that title.

ST. THOMAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH (122 Liberty) has the oldest edifice (1869) among the Bath village churches. The massive stonework construction, the towering needle of the spire, the dramatic slope of the roofs all seize the eye. Stained-glass windows and Renaissance paintings contribute to the experience of the main worship space, which seats 500 people.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (6 East Morris) has a similarly massive edifice of native stone, erected in 1877. Apparently the idea at one time was to have two steeples, but the asymmetrical arrangement of a steeple and a turret works even better. With the green park of Pulteney Square in front and looming cliffs behind, 1st Presbyterian has an arresting setting. The church is also justly famed for its INTERIOR, and its sanctuary designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany… check for drop-in tours on summer Wednesdays. Both churches are on the National Register of Historic Places, and on the Bath random-access tour; look for small signs with QR codes out front.

Across from the Episcopal church, CENTENARY METHODIST (3 West Washington) has a 1970s sanctuary of decidedly modern design, with huge abstract stained-glass windows. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH of Hornell (28 Church Street) also has a very modern design for its 1963 sanctuary, linked with a much older facility.

While First Baptist and Centenary Methodist emphasize angularity, ST. JANUARIUS CATHOLIC CHURCH in Naples (180 North Main) emphasizes curves, flow, and organics. The roof swoops like a wave at sea, while curved concrete walls are pierced with colored randomly-set oval windows, letting in the light while suggesting the grapes whose vines surround the church. It’s a brilliant modern jewel on the historic mantle of Naples.

Two churches have been mentioned in earlier blogs, but warrant a second look. The jewel-box Episcopal CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD in Savona (33 Church Street), with its fieldstone base and broad shingled front, is impressive from any angle. And GARRETT CHAPEL on Keuka Bluff (5251 Skyline Drive) is an exquisite stone structure in a sylvan setting overlooking the lake.

What about your good old-fashioned New England-style country church (probably painted white)? Most any country drive will take you past a smorgasbord of them. We’ll mention TOWN LINE CHURCH, (8343 Steuben County Road 119) with its old-fashioned double front doors (left over from the Puritans, who linked central aisles with Catholicism). Town Line has lost its steeple over time, which makes a pair with the former HARRISBURG HOLLOW METHODIST, (Robbins Road and Harrisburg Hollow Road) which has kept its steeple but lost its church! Community members lovingly tend the steeple, which was just recently refurbished, and now stands Narnia-like in the hills between Bath and Wheeler.

“Sacred Spaces” Weekend (and Beyond)

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On the weekend of May 20-21, the Landmark Conservancy is hosting a Sacred Spaces open house across New York. I know that two monumental Bath churches are involved, but after that I’m stalled – maybe you’ll have better luck with their web site than I do. But you might enjoy checking out these interesting places of worship, whether they’re officially on the tour or not.

*St. Thomas Episcopal Church has the oldest edifice in Bath, and arguably the most magnificent. It anchors the southeast corner of Washington Square Park, and stands at the head of the Liberty Street Historic District. Its needle-like spire pierces the sky, and is visible for blocks around. The stone fabric whispers of an appropriately-Episcopal dignity, and an appropriately-Episcopal elegance. Not to mention an impressive strength befitting the mother of the church who rode 90 miles to have her baby baptized in the early 1800s, and lived to see an Episcopal church established, just as she’d demanded for years, in Bath.

*First Presbyterian Church of Bath stands at the other end of Liberty, gazing across Pulteney Square and northward up the street – and it’s the OTHER most magnificent church in Bath! Like St. Thomas it’s a stone structure, but a little bit more modern, with a rose window and an asymmetrical front. Those on the street or in the park can enjoy the carillon at noon. Those within can delight in the Louis Comfort Tiffany sanctuary, donated by Ira Davenport Jr. in memory of his brother. Visitors come literally from around the world to see the only complete Tiffany sanctuary that remains.

*Town Line Church, on County Road 119 near Cameron Mills, is at the other end of the scale from those two dramatic edifices in Bath, but it predates both of them by decades. Town Line was a rural church built in 1845, serving a small congregation in a small community, though over 3000 people rest in its cemetery. It’s remarkable for its pure serene New England lines, including the two doors leading to two aisles. Back in the 1600s New Englanders were proud to stand against “Popery.” Catholic churches each had a single central aisle, so New England churches would have pews in the middle, and two aisles toward the sides. There’s no congregation here any more, but on Sunday, May 21 there will be a service, followed by hot dogs, hamburgers, Civil War re-enactors, a cemetery tour, and more.

*Town Line Church at least survives. Harrisburg Hollow Methodist Church is now only a memory and a steeple, startling the traveler like a lamppost in Narnia. Its community has long since evaporated away, and the steeple stands in silent isolation.

*Garrett Chapel perches dramatically on Keuka Bluff, built of stone in the Norman style by broken-hearted parents to memorialize a son who died far too young. Services are held on summer Sundays.

*Reverend Thomas K. Beecher (brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe) led a building project at Elmira’s Park Church and created the modern community center church. His statue stands nearby.

*Why isn’t Savona’s Epicopal Church of the Good Shepherd on the National Register of Historic Places? It’s a delightful jewel-box cobblestone structure.

*St. Januarius Church in Naples has a unique and eye-catching exterior, complementing the vineyard on the edge of which it sits. Seldom do we see a better customization of a church to its setting. Well done!

*While St. Michael’s Church in Penn Yan has a fine attractive edifice, there’s perhaps nothing remarkable about it. But it deserves to be celebrated because of the night 90 years ago when the Ku Klux Klan demonstrated in front of the church in opposition to Catholics and Catholicism. The pastor came out and told them that if they didn’t leave, he’d kick all their asses. He was a very large man, and the Ku Klux Klan slunk away. Hooray for St. Michael’s, and its indomitable pastor!