Landmark Manhattan Episcopal Church Returns to Neo-Gothic Roots
(The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Bloomberg.)
By Nancy Moran
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- After a portion of the plaster ceiling collapsed during an organ concert at Christ & Saint Stephen's
Episcopal Church on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 2004, engineers inspecting the damage made a surprising
discovery.
Underneath the plaster of the landmark neo-Gothic church, they found huge wooden beams and original walls,
meticulously painted with well-preserved stencils of flowers, stars and Christological monograms.
The Reverend Kathleen Liles, who earned a masters degree in art history before becoming a priest, recognized the
patterns right away. ``Stenciling was used in Victorian churches not just to decorate, but to provide visual language that
communicated the theology of the church,'' Liles said. ``Discovering it was like finding a treasure behind the wall that
could speak.''
Aided by a $10,000 grant from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the parish replicated the stenciling in the 125-
year-old church and began an ongoing restoration campaign.
Visitors and worshippers can see a nave lined with vines and branches in pinkish brown, an altar speckled with the
church's monogram, and each stained-glass window bordered with crosses and flora in rose, dark blue and grayish olive.
It's a welcome departure from the bare, white walls that preceded the restoration, reaching back into the church's history
to create a refined, ornamental look.
An oak pulpit to replace the current modern-style blond-wood platform and an organ to retire the church's old and
plaster- damaged Roosevelt model are next on the list.
$1.2 Million Renovation
Founded in 1805, the parish of Saint Stephen's bought its current building on West 69th Street, between Broadway and
Columbus Avenue, from the Church of the Transfiguration in 1897. The original structure can be traced back to 1880,
likely making it the oldest church on the Upper West Side, according to Andrew Dolkart, a professor of historic
preservation at Columbia University. The congregation merged with Christ Church in 1975.
The tile-roofed church is set off from the street by a grassy knoll with inviting benches; the surrounding buildings of town
houses and a residential tower eclipse it.
So far, Christ & Saint Stephen's has raised 75 percent of the estimated $1.2 million needed for the restoration through
donations. That has paid for the stenciling, the newly installed ceiling and a quiet air-conditioning system that won't
interfere with its concert series.
The rest of the funds will go toward the $500,000 purchase of a two-keyboard, 996-pipe organ from the San
Francisco-based maker Schoenstein & Co. The church's Roosevelt has been patched together over the years, and its
pipes buzz, due to particles of plaster lodged inside since the ceiling collapse.
Despite the handicap, the instrument still accompanies the parish choir every Sunday at the 11 a.m. service.
`Breadbox Look'
While stenciling was prevalent in Episcopal churches in the mid-19th century, after World War II many parishes opted to
paint or plaster over the ornamentation in favor of a ``more clean and modern look,'' said Kim Lovejoy, an architectural
historian and member of EverGreene Painting Studios Inc., the New York-based artists who managed the project.
For Christ & Saint Stephen's, that translated into a ``white-enamel breadbox look,'' Lovejoy said.
Evergreene suggested replicating two of the original stencils for the altar along with the monograms: a flaming star,
representing the presence of the Holy Spirit, and an eight-petal flower with a crown motif, symbolizing eternal life. New
designs inspired by earlier floral and vine-and-branch motifs were chosen for the rest of church, as well as crosses and a
lettered banner for the back wall.
`Little Jewel'
Now with the stenciling restored, the inside of the church matches its English neo-Gothic exterior. All that's missing is
the Schoenstein organ, which will be custom-made to work with the church's acoustics and the first of its kind in New
York when it arrives in 2008.
Christ & Saint Stephen's artist-in-residence Paul Jacobs, who was named chairman of Juilliard's organ department in
2004, is convinced it will be a ``little jewel'' of an instrument. He's even gone so far as to order a studio version for his
students at Juilliard.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Nancy Moran in New York at nmoran@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 8, 2006 00:14 EST
(The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Bloomberg.)
By Nancy Moran
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- After a portion of the plaster ceiling collapsed during an organ concert at Christ & Saint Stephen's
Episcopal Church on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 2004, engineers inspecting the damage made a surprising
discovery.
Underneath the plaster of the landmark neo-Gothic church, they found huge wooden beams and original walls,
meticulously painted with well-preserved stencils of flowers, stars and Christological monograms.
The Reverend Kathleen Liles, who earned a masters degree in art history before becoming a priest, recognized the
patterns right away. ``Stenciling was used in Victorian churches not just to decorate, but to provide visual language that
communicated the theology of the church,'' Liles said. ``Discovering it was like finding a treasure behind the wall that
could speak.''
Aided by a $10,000 grant from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the parish replicated the stenciling in the 125-
year-old church and began an ongoing restoration campaign.
Visitors and worshippers can see a nave lined with vines and branches in pinkish brown, an altar speckled with the
church's monogram, and each stained-glass window bordered with crosses and flora in rose, dark blue and grayish olive.
It's a welcome departure from the bare, white walls that preceded the restoration, reaching back into the church's history
to create a refined, ornamental look.
An oak pulpit to replace the current modern-style blond-wood platform and an organ to retire the church's old and
plaster- damaged Roosevelt model are next on the list.
$1.2 Million Renovation
Founded in 1805, the parish of Saint Stephen's bought its current building on West 69th Street, between Broadway and
Columbus Avenue, from the Church of the Transfiguration in 1897. The original structure can be traced back to 1880,
likely making it the oldest church on the Upper West Side, according to Andrew Dolkart, a professor of historic
preservation at Columbia University. The congregation merged with Christ Church in 1975.
The tile-roofed church is set off from the street by a grassy knoll with inviting benches; the surrounding buildings of town
houses and a residential tower eclipse it.
So far, Christ & Saint Stephen's has raised 75 percent of the estimated $1.2 million needed for the restoration through
donations. That has paid for the stenciling, the newly installed ceiling and a quiet air-conditioning system that won't
interfere with its concert series.
The rest of the funds will go toward the $500,000 purchase of a two-keyboard, 996-pipe organ from the San
Francisco-based maker Schoenstein & Co. The church's Roosevelt has been patched together over the years, and its
pipes buzz, due to particles of plaster lodged inside since the ceiling collapse.
Despite the handicap, the instrument still accompanies the parish choir every Sunday at the 11 a.m. service.
`Breadbox Look'
While stenciling was prevalent in Episcopal churches in the mid-19th century, after World War II many parishes opted to
paint or plaster over the ornamentation in favor of a ``more clean and modern look,'' said Kim Lovejoy, an architectural
historian and member of EverGreene Painting Studios Inc., the New York-based artists who managed the project.
For Christ & Saint Stephen's, that translated into a ``white-enamel breadbox look,'' Lovejoy said.
Evergreene suggested replicating two of the original stencils for the altar along with the monograms: a flaming star,
representing the presence of the Holy Spirit, and an eight-petal flower with a crown motif, symbolizing eternal life. New
designs inspired by earlier floral and vine-and-branch motifs were chosen for the rest of church, as well as crosses and a
lettered banner for the back wall.
`Little Jewel'
Now with the stenciling restored, the inside of the church matches its English neo-Gothic exterior. All that's missing is
the Schoenstein organ, which will be custom-made to work with the church's acoustics and the first of its kind in New
York when it arrives in 2008.
Christ & Saint Stephen's artist-in-residence Paul Jacobs, who was named chairman of Juilliard's organ department in
2004, is convinced it will be a ``little jewel'' of an instrument. He's even gone so far as to order a studio version for his
students at Juilliard.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Nancy Moran in New York at nmoran@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 8, 2006 00:14 EST
About Us
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Offices: Connecticut 25 Harbor View Avenue Norwalk, CT 06854-4804 New York State 7 Sunken Meadow Road Northport, NY 11768 New York Metro Area 120 West 69th Street New York, NY 10023 |
Five Mile River Group