St. Charles Borromeo/Beaver Brook Outfitters

Beaver Brook Outfitters, North Creek, 1875
(photo 9/24/2010)

This building once St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church gives a very good sense of what the other churches built by Father James A. Kelly once looked like.

Painting a steeple isn't an easy chore but somebody should figure it out soon before more extensive work is required.

St. James Catholic Church, North Creek

St. James Catholic Church, North Creek, 1875
(photo 9/24/2010)

This appears to be a modern replacement for the original church built by Father James A. Kelly which was nearly identical to the Wevertown Church (now Beaverbrook Outfitters) and the Catholic Church of the Infant Jesus in Lake Luzerne. The Outfitters building is the only one still in existence.

Adk Churches notes that Father Kelly first met William West Durant at the dedication of this church and "their ensuing friendship  had at least some influence on Durant's later decision to support the construction of two Catholic churches in the neighborhood of Raquette Lake."

North Creek United Methodist Church

United Methodist Church of North Creek 1879
(photo 9/24/2010)

This building once had an elaborate spire extending high above the present steeple.  A simple vernacular building but with a bit more adornment than the Baptist church down the road.

First Baptist Church, North Creek

First Baptist Church, North Creek
(photo 9/24/2010)

Apparently Baptists have little interest in providing excess information about their churches. A cursory search of the internet provides little information and there is nothing in Adirondack Churches about this building.  The lack of adornment speaks to the frugality of the parish; a straight, up-right, square and solid building, mind-ful of symmetry. Note the false third story windows on the steeple and the simple practical shed roof over the entry.

St. Mary's Episcopal Church

St. Mary's Episcopal Church,  Lake Luzerne 1874-75
(photo 10/26/2008)

Congregation founded in 1865, the cornerstone was laid on August 25th 1874 and construction lasted about a year. There is a concise history at the churches website:
http://www.stmarysluzerne.org/pg_history/

The August 25th date is pertinent. To this point I haven't included many recently built churches.  Older churches seem more dignified, more architectural. Why?

Of course it is about people, the congregation, the founders.  Here in the Adirondacks congregations are often comprised of two groups; the locals and the "summer people." Often it was the tourists, the some-time Adirondackers, the people with summer camps who largely funded the construction of churches. There was and still is a divide between those groups.

More recent churches built within the Blue Line tend to glorify the architecture far less than in the past. My thesis is that these are churches built and paid for by locals opposed to the more elegant structures of the sometime residents. I expect this will be a running thread.

St Mary's built in "downtown" Lake Luzerne, directly on Rt. 9N is a good place to represent this dichotomy. More on that later.

Saint Mary's Church, Indian Lake

Saint Mary's Church, Indian Lake
(photo 9/26/2010)

I don't really know much about architectural styles. To me this is a modern style sort of prow-roofed cross between a chalet and a ranch done free of excess ornament in yellowish brick. I have no information on this building but I am guessing it was built after Vatican 2.

There are few examples of a real sort of regional style that I have found in churches so there is no reason to think of these more modern churches as being odd in the context of the Adirondacks except that maybe brick as an exterior doesn't ring true to the Adk aesthetic. Still this looks a well built solid, proud yet unassuming structure. Some of the newer churches move further from pride in appearance to downright solid and homely.

I am not sure what it is that these buildings say about  the communities of people  who built them, use them or live in the community with them. How have these people changed over time and what does the architecture say about that.

I hope that some of these questions will resolve themselves for me over time.

St John's in the Wilderness, Paul Smiths

St John's in the Wilderness Episcopal Church, Paul Smiths 1927
(photos 9/26/2010)

Adirondack Churches, by Sally Svenson devotes a chapter to Church Design for Summer Residents and Visitors and St John's figures prominently. The original church was a log building built in 1877 designed by George Hathorne of New York city.  Fundraising for the new church was led by Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, who I believe is buried behind the present church. The idea of building with logs was novel for wealthy visitors who enjoyed the spending time as rustics while on vacation from the city.
Locals preferred to more sophisticated construction if it could be afforded.

The original church burned down in 1927 and was replaced with a  more fire resistant stone church in a medieval English style designed by William Distin of Saranac Lake.

This is also the final resting place of Clifford R. Pettis a Cornell University Forester who is named as "the father of reforestation" in New York State. Pettis was Superintendent of State Forests from 1910 to 1927 a time when much of the Adirondacks was a deforested wasteland prone to fire and erosion.

Deer Meadows, Inlet

Okay, so this isn't a house of worship but I love the sign. And they have a phone booth. Retro.

St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, Old Forge

St Bartholomew Catholic Church, Old Forge
(photo 11/19/2010)

The cornerstone gives a date of May 3, 1991 for this building which is undergoing some minor renovation.  The internets give a founding date of 1897 for the parish and the current building apparently replaces a spectacular Queen Anne style wood-frame structure built in 1899 which had an ornate if somewhat grotesque tower reaching skyward like some sort of pagoda rocket.

The current arch glulam and brick building says oh-so 1991 though some of the furnishings may have been salvaged from an older church. An odd eclecticism.

Diamond Point Community Church

Diamond Point Community Church, formerly the Union Evangelical Church (1876-79) and St. John's Community Church
(photo 10/01/1)


This building, located on the corner of Diamond Point Road and Rt. 9N, appears in Adirondack Churches as an illustration for the wagon shed which once was a feature to many rural churches. 


From the church website a portion of the churches history.        


" Although known by many different names over the past 130 years, the mission of this church has remained the same; to welcome all who wish to worship here. Mr. George H. Cramer commenced construction of the building in 1876 as a memorial to his brother John Cramer. Built of native rough stone it consisted of a tower and belfry at its east and a chancel at the west displaying a handsome stained glass window also dedicated to his brother. Displeasure with the progress caused Mr. Cramer to unceremoniously close down the job, leaving the building available for use but possessing a barn-like floor, unpainted and soiled walls, and a generally uncomfortable and unwelcoming atmosphere. Called the Union Evangelical Church, it was dedicated to the worship of Almighty God on August 12, 1879. At that time the church and the property on which it rests were presented by Mr. Cramer to the then trustees, G. H. Cramer, Jefferson Smith, and Dr. Edwin L. Patrick. Unfortunately the disrepair of the building reflected upon the behavior of the parishioners. Children were unsupervised, youth both male and female munched apples and tossed chestnuts among themselves, while the young men came and went as they pleased, frequently disrupting the service. During its first few years the church was served by local Methodist ministers and even and itinerant evangelist who offered to preach without pay."


There is much more information on the church website:

www.diamondpointcommunitychurch.com

Bruno LaVerdiere, Church of the Holy Infancy, Lake Luzerne

Bruno LaVerdiere (Brother Bruno) was a monk and resident artist at St. Martin's Abbey in Washington State from 1955 to 1969. A graduate of St. John's University in Minnesota he worked with Henry Takemoto while in Washington.

 He studied at the Art Students League from 1965 to 1967,  eventually married and moved to Hadley NY where he worked as an artist and taught at Skidmore College and Adirondack Community College as well as other institutions around the US as well as  in France and Italy.

Bruno created a large chandelier, several candle-holders/pavement lights, and a large Pascal candleholder for the Church of the Holy Infancy--guessing at the date, ca 1977.

LaVerdiere currently is retired from teaching but lives and works at his home and studio in Hadley, NY. He is the father of Julian LaVerdiere who with Paul Myoda created the Tribute in Light at the site of the World Trade Center after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Church of the Holy Infancy

Church of the Holy Infancy, Holy Mother and Child Parish 1929/1956; formerly Church of the Infant Jesus. Catholic.
Lake Luzerne  (photo 9/24/2010)


Originally built under the leadership of Father James A. Kelly in 1876 as one of three nearly identical churches (St. Charles Borromeo in Wevertown, now Beaver Brook Outfitters; St James Catholic  in North Creek---only  St. Charles Borromeo building still exists) the current church, built in 1929, stands on route 9N in Lake Luzerne.

Church of the Assumption

Church of the Assumption, Roman Catholic Church, Gabriels. (Photo 9/26/2010)

This is a sister church to St. John's in the Wilderness (Lake Clear) in that it is of a similar design. Built by Benjamin A. Muncil in 1923. Muncil also built  St. Paul's Catholic Church in Bloomingdale about seven years later.  I believe Muncil's grave is at St. John's in the Wilderness Episcopal Church just down the road in Paul Smith's along with Clifford Pettis and Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau.

St. Olaf's Chapel

St. Olaf's Lutheran Chapel, 1953, in Eagle Bay, NY on the South Shore Rd between Inlet and Old Forge. (Photo 9/24/10)

This chapel is not listed in "Adirondack Churches" and I haven't found much on the internet about it.

Scandinavian in look with brushed vertical siding and simple carved detail on the porch posts. A sign indicates the rest room around back which is an outhouse. To the left of the front porch is a 9 or 10 foot cross standing over a pile of stones overgrown with ferns. Obvious in the pile of stones is a large white chunk of coral. If in fact this is a grave I would be very interested in knowing the story of the person buried there. 

Perhaps some Norwegian seaman. But how did he get there? Something I'll have to follow up on.

St. Christopher's Church

St. Christopher's Episcopalian Church, Adirondack Mission in North Creek, NY (photo 9/24/2010)

This is a postage stamp size church, I'm guessing about 12' x 32' in size with space for maybe 30 parishioners, tops. I almost didn't turn down the side street this church is located on. This charming little building of relatively new construction was a real find.

"St. Christopher's Church, North Creek, started out meeting in the local fire house.  In 1948 one and one half prefabricated garages arrived on a rail car.  The building was assembled on Ridge Street. where it still stands, making St. Christophers's one of the smallest church buildings in the Diocese of Albany." This information from the Adirondack Mission website.

If the front door is locked the key hangs conveniently within easy reach  to the right of the door.

St. John in the Wilderness

St. John in the Wilderness Church, Lake Clear, NY (photo 8/24/2010)

Arts and Crafts style building built in 1917 to plans supplied by the Catholic Church Extension Society with addition and remodel in 1979.

Two later churches built nearby in Gabriels (Catholic Church of the Assumption) and Bloomingdale (St. Paul's Catholic Church) are of similar appearance.

Stony Wold Hall

Stony Wold Hall (1909)  (photo October 20 2007)

Stony Wold Sanatorium was built on Lake Kushaqua in 1903.  SWH, built in 1909, was a multi-purpose building including both Catholic and non-Catholic space for worship. In the 20's a space was provided for Jewish worship.

In the 70's  the sanatorium was bought by NY State and included in the Forever Wild ADK Park. SW Hall is all that remains. Now a private residence.

At this point I should acknowledge a tremendous resource for anyone interested in Adirondack Churches and their history:  Adirondack Churches  by Sally E.  Svenson, Adirondack Architectural Heritage, 2006.

I came across this book some time after my initial idea of photographing ADK churches and other houses of worship and was incredibly thankful that someone had done the real research that was beyond my ability and my intent.  I will resort to this book on occasion for identifying churches that have gone on to other uses. But if you want real, well researched detail you will buy this book!

Adirondack Presbyterian Church

 The Adirondack Presbyterian Church located in Lake Clear. This photo taken August 24, 2010.

As I noted previously the idea for taking picture of houses of worship, and perhaps some other public structures, has been in the back of my mind for some time. Since I first thought of the idea some of the buildings I would have taken pictures of have been destroyed by fire, most notably the a church in Warrensburg in an accidental fire and one in Pottersville set on purpose by a young man with a twisted idea of religion.

The future of any structure is uncertain except it is certain to decay over time. Small towns across the Adirondacks are growing smaller.  Some congregations are dwindling and the cost of repairing old buildings is high. Many old churches that will appear here have found new purposes. Some, like the stately Our Lady of Angels in Whitehall have been lost to the wrecking ball.

Genesis

In the course of our work we spend a lot of time traveling around the Adirondacks and occasionally going into churches to quote on work. I love the architecture of these  houses of worship, the vernacular quality, the sometimes unexpected detail and what all this says about the people of the various parishes, of the  Adirondacks, but also of the changes in the way people think of themselves and the world around them as expressed through some of the most prominent buildings in their communities.

 At some point I got the idea that it would be an interesting project to document all the churches within the Blue Line in a one year period. I started taking pictures of some of these structures with the intent of doing a book, a set of portraits of those buildings; but I'll never get to a book with all my other projects so I'm starting this blog in order to put this information somewhere that may be useful to someone in the future.

So here is my first church. No particular reason for this church except that it was the first I came across on my hard-drive. My intent is to simply post a picture of the building as it exists now. These are not intended as portraits; I'm not trying to pretty these up, I want to show the power-lines, the cars the roadside trash, whatever is there at the time.

 My hope is that others will add information about these structures.

This is the Linwood Baptist Church in the Town of Hadley or maybe Day near Stewart Pond and the Conklingville Dam in northern Saratoga County. Photo taken October 25, 2008.