First Presbyterian Church of Newtown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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First Presbyterian Church of Newtown
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Seen in May 2009
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| Location | 54-05 Seabury St., Elmhurst, New York |
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| Area | 0.66 acres (0.27 ha) |
| Built | 1895 (current church) 1907 (manse) 1931 (parish hall) |
| Architect | Collins, Frank A.; Meyer & Mathieu |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival, Collegiate Gothic |
| NRHP reference No. | 13000696 |
| Added to NRHP | September 9, 2013 |
The First Presbyterian Church of Newtown is a very old and important church in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens in New York City. It's a Presbyterian church, which is a type of Christian church. The church has three main parts: the church building itself, a parish hall (a community building), and a manse (the pastor's home). This church complex, located at 54th Avenue, is actually the fifth one built for this church group!
The church group started way back in 1652. At first, they shared a building with other churches. In 1669, the town of Newtown (which is now Elmhurst) built a new place for all the churches. The group officially became part of the Presbyterian Church in 1715. They built their own church, but it was destroyed during the American Revolutionary War. A second church, known as the Old White Church, was built in 1791 and stood until 1928. The church moved into its current building in 1895. The manse was built in 1907. Both the church and manse were moved in 1924 when a big road called Queens Boulevard was made wider. The parish hall was built in 1931.
The current church building looks like a Late Gothic Revival style church. It's made of granite and brownstone with a steep slate roof. It has three large pointed windows and a tall, square bell tower that is about 85 feet (26 meters) high. The parish hall is a brick building with a slate roof, built in the Collegiate Gothic style. The manse is a 2.5-story house. This whole church complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013 because of its history and special architecture.
Contents
Early Beginnings: Sharing a Building (1652–1715)
Elmhurst started as a town called Middleburgh in 1652. It was a Dutch colony called New Amsterdam. The town leaders wanted people of different religions to live there. Soon after, a town building was put up for both community events and religious services. Different church groups, like the Church of England, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Presbyterians, and the Quakers, all shared this building.
In 1665, the English took control of New Amsterdam and renamed Middleburgh to "Newtown." Later, in 1683, Newtown became part of Queens County. In 1669, the town decided to build a new church for all these groups. A citizen named Ralph Hunt donated the land. The new building cost 40 pounds (an old type of money). It was made bigger in 1694. The next year, Newtown bought a house and 12 acres (4.9 hectares) of land to be used as a home for the pastor.
After 1693, the Church of England became the official religion in New York. This meant that the Anglican church leaders were in charge of appointing pastors. For a while, the governor, Lord Cornbury, didn't allow pastors who disagreed with the Church of England to preach. But after he left in 1708, the Presbyterian group was allowed to choose their own pastor, Rev. Samuel Pumroy.
A Church of Their Own: Building and War (1715–1776)
On September 15, 1715, the Presbyterian group officially joined the Presbyterian Church. They became part of the Presbytery of Philadelphia and had eight members. In 1717, they joined with other churches to form the Long Island Presbytery.
A church member named Jonathan Fish gave land for the Presbyterian group to build their own church. The old shared building was falling apart. The group got the land in March 1716. They started building their own church, which was finished in 1741. It even had a tall spire with a bell.
When the American Revolutionary War started in 1775, most people in Newtown supported the British. They were called Loyalists. But the Presbyterian Church of Newtown, like many other Presbyterian churches, supported American independence. They were called Patriots. The church even had a "Committee of Correspondence" to talk with the Continental Congress. The United States Declaration of Independence was read on the church steps in 1776.
After the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, the British took over Newtown. The church had to stop its services. Some young Loyalists even sawed off the church's steeple in the middle of the night! The British took out the church benches and turned the building into a jail. To be mean to the Presbyterians, they left the pulpit (where the pastor preaches) in the street to be used for tying up horses. Later, they completely destroyed the church building and used the wood to build huts for their soldiers.
The Old White Church: Rebuilding and Change (1791–1928)
After the war, only five of the original church members were left in Newtown. The others had been captured, killed, or had run away. The Reformed Church of Newtown kindly let the Presbyterians use their building for a while.
The First Presbyterian Church of Newtown officially became a legal organization in 1784. A new church building was started in 1787 and finished in 1791. It had a bell made in the Netherlands in 1788. This building was later called the Old White Church. It was a two-story wooden building painted white. A manse (pastor's house) was built in 1821, and land for a cemetery was given to the church the next year. The church building was made bigger in 1836 and updated again later.
The church group used this building until 1895. Then, they moved to their current building, and the Old White Church became a Sunday school. An extra part was added to the Old White Church in 1909. The cemetery was used for burials until 1906. The Old White Church's manse was moved in the mid-1920s. Sadly, the Old White Church burned down in 1928. It seems the bell tower caught fire, probably from lightning.
The Current Church: Moving and Growing (1895–Present)
Building the New Church
John Goldsmith Payntar, a rich merchant from Newtown, passed away in 1891. In his will, he left $65,000 to build a new church. He wanted it to be an "exact copy" of a church he really liked in Cherry Valley. Frank A. Collins designed the new church. Construction began in July 1893, and the church was officially opened in May 1895. The new church was built across the street from the old one. The church group also built another building next to the bell tower for meetings.
In the late 1890s, Newtown was renamed Elmhurst and became part of the larger City of Greater New York. Elmhurst started to grow with more homes and businesses. The church group also grew, adding 104 new members between 1896 and 1902. In 1905, the church leaders decided to build a new manse, which was finished in 1907.
Relocating the Church
Queens Boulevard was built in the early 1900s. It connected Elmhurst to Manhattan. In 1912, the city decided to widen the road. They offered to buy and tear down the church building, or pay the church $35,000 to move it. The church chose to move it!
The agreement was made in 1917, but the move didn't happen until 1922. A company called Walter Kidde and Company was hired to move the church on rollers. It cost $87,000. Starting in February 1924, the huge 3,000-ton church was moved 125 feet (38 meters) south. The 1907 manse was also moved behind the church. The tall steeple was taken down and its stones were saved to be put back together, but that never happened. The old meeting hall was torn down because the church wanted to build a bigger one.
In 1930, part of the church's chapel was taken for the new subway line, the Independent Subway System's IND Queens Boulevard Line. The Grand Avenue–Newtown station entrance is right outside the church. The church hired Meyer & Mathieu to design a new parish house, which was built in 1931 for $75,000. The city was supposed to pay the church for the land they took, but the payment was delayed. So, the church took out a $60,000 loan in 1930 to pay for the parish house. They paid off the loan five years later when the city finally paid them. This was the only time the church had debt in its 283-year history!
In 1951, some developers offered the church $1,000,000 for its building, but the church said no. The next year, U.S. president Harry S. Truman sent a message to the church for its 300th anniversary.
The land where the old church cemetery was located was sold in 1958. The bodies were carefully moved to the Cemetery of the Evergreens. By the early 1980s, many immigrants were moving to Elmhurst. The First Presbyterian Church of Newtown had members from 40 different countries! The pastor at the time, Rev. Charles Sorg, kept services in English. He believed this would help unite everyone and help immigrants fit into American life. In 2003, for the church's 350th anniversary, they planted two Newtown Pippin apple trees. This type of apple first grew in a nearby orchard centuries ago. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
Church Architecture: A Closer Look
The church complex is located along the southeast side of 54th Avenue, between Seabury Street and Queens Boulevard. The main front of the church faces Queens Boulevard, right outside the subway station. The manse (pastor's house) is a 2.5-story house that faces Seabury Street. The parish hall is at the back of the church.
The Church Building
The current church building was designed by Frank A. Collins and built in 1895. It was made to look like an English Gothic style church in Cherry Valley, New York. The church building is made of stone and measures about 86 by 102 feet (26 by 31 meters). It has gray granite with small pieces of stone, and also brick. The corners of the building have quoins (corner stones) made of brownstone.
Outside the Church
The main entrance has a central arched doorway. Brownstone frames around the door go up to a pointed brownstone top. Above the door, it says "Payntar Memorial," honoring John Goldsmith Payntar. The church building has beautiful stained glass windows. The main window on the front shows the Ascension of Jesus, with smaller windows on each side.
The side of the church facing 54th Avenue has windows that look into the aisle of the main part of the church, called the nave. There are also taller windows above them. There are five sections, and each has a pointed arch window on the lower part, surrounded by brownstone. Above these, there are three windows. A pointed arch with a wooden door is on the left side.
A square tower sticks out about 13 feet (4 meters) from the eastern corner of the church. It is 85 feet (26 meters) tall and 17 feet (5.2 meters) wide. It has strong supports called buttresses at each corner. The tower has a belfry (where the bell is) with a bell made in the Netherlands in 1788. The church building originally had a very tall stone spire that reached 146 feet (45 meters) high. But it was taken apart when the church was moved in 1924.
Inside the Church
Inside, the walls are made of plaster with wooden panels and beams. The floors are made of wood. A narthex (entrance area) at the front separates the main entrance from the nave. A gallery (balcony) runs along the front of the nave. The narthex and nave are separated by three doorways. A staircase on the north side goes up to the gallery, and another on the east side leads to the gallery and bell tower. The gallery has three rows of church benches.
The rectangular nave takes up most of the space. It has 16 rows of benches, separated by a middle aisle. At the back of the nave is the chancel and choir loft. This area has a wooden platform with a wooden altar, screen, chairs, and a stand for reading. A marble baptismal font and a wooden pulpit (where the pastor preaches) are also in the chancel.
The church also has a choir room in the basement. It was built with modern heating and gas, which was very new when the church was built. The church has two organs: one built in 1907 and another in 1940.
The Manse (Pastor's House)
The manse, built in 1907, is a 2.5-story house with nine rooms. It's shaped like an "L" and is located along Seabury Street. It's where the church's pastor lives. When it was first built, the manse had a main entrance with fancy columns and a porch. The porch was removed sometime between 1923 and 1925. The outside of the house is covered with green wooden siding and has many windows. It has a hip roof (a roof that slopes on all sides) with a brick chimney in the middle.
Inside, the house has wooden decorations and neoclassical details. There's an entrance area and a hallway with a chandelier. Stairs go to the second floor and the basement. The first floor has a central hall that leads to a kitchen, three rooms with fireplaces, and a bathroom. The second floor has closets, the pastor's office, two other rooms, and a bathroom.
The Parish House (Community Hall)
The parish house, also called the social hall, is a two-story building built in 1931. It's connected to the back of the church and faces Seabury Street. It's built in the Collegiate Gothic style. The parish house has a gable roof (a roof with two sloping sides) made of slate. It has a strong steel and concrete frame and a brick outside over a stone base. The main double door on Seabury Street has a stone frame and says "Church House." The building has decorative details like limestone corners and special frames around the doors and windows.
Inside, a small entrance area connects to the upper floor. The upper floor has a large community space with a stage and a basketball court. It can be used as an auditorium or a gym. There's also a kitchen next to the stage. The lower floor has six classrooms, another kitchen, a "church parlor" with a fireplace, locker rooms, and restrooms. These rooms are used for clubs, Sunday school classes, and other church activities.
Images for kids
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First Presbyterian Church of Newtown in May 2009
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The Old White Church
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The present church, seen in 1922 before being relocated to its current site
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The church seen from across Queens Boulevard
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Initial appearance of the church, with its spire
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Close up of the northwestern facade, with spire missing
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Manse, as seen from Seabury Street
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Parish house
