Old Whaler's Church (Sag Harbor) facts for kids
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First Presbyterian Church
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The First Presbyterian Church with steeple (before 1938)
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | 44 Union Street, Sag Harbor, NY |
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| Built | 1844 |
| Architect | Minard Lafever |
| Architectural style | Egyptian Revival, Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 94001194 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 19, 1994 |
| Designated NHL | April 19, 1994 |
The First Presbyterian Church in Sag Harbor, New York, also known as Old Whaler's Church, is a very old and famous Presbyterian church. It was built in 1844. The church is special because of its unique design, which mixes Egyptian Revival and Greek Revival styles.
Many people think this church is Sag Harbor's most important building. Its front, or facade, is considered one of the best examples of Egyptian Revival style still standing in the United States today. When it was first built, the church had a tall steeple, 185 feet high. This made it the tallest building on Long Island at the time. The steeple was sadly destroyed by a big storm called the Great New England Hurricane of 1938.
The church is located at 44 Union Street. It is part of the historic Sag Harbor Village District. In 1994, it was named a National Historic Landmark. This means it's a very important place in American history. It is the only National Historic Landmark in Sag Harbor.
Contents
Church Design: A Mix of Styles
The church's front looks a bit like the huge, sloped walls of ancient Egyptian temples. These walls are called pylons. The top edge of the church has decorations that look like the tools used by whalers to cut up whale blubber. This design reminds everyone of the whaling industry that made Sag Harbor rich long ago.
The people who built the church wanted its Egyptian style to remind everyone of Solomon's Temple. This was a very famous temple from ancient times.
Inside the church, the entrance area has special doors that also have an Egyptian Revival look. The original church bell is kept in the front hall. It was rung in 1944 for the church's 100th birthday, during World War II. For this celebration, people dressed in old 1840s clothes. They sang a song from 1849, a time when many local men left for the California Gold Rush. The celebration was even broadcast on the radio to show an example of the Four Freedoms.
The main worship area, called the sanctuary, looks completely different. It is designed in the Greek Revival style. It's a very large space and could seat 800 people. The pulpit, where the minister speaks, is framed by tall columns that reach over 50 feet to the ceiling. The ceiling has a special design called a coffer. A painting behind the pulpit makes the wall look curved, even though it's flat. The old-fashioned seats, called box pews, have railings made of Cuban mahogany wood. Many of these pews still have silver nameplates from the 1800s, when families would "buy" their own seats.
The Famous Steeple
The church originally had a steeple that was 185 feet tall. It was so tall that sailors could see it from ships near Montauk Point, which is about 21 miles away. When it was finished, it was the tallest building on Long Island.
The steeple had three parts, getting narrower as they went up. The bottom part was an eight-sided Greek Revival area where the church bell hung. This part looked like an ancient Greek monument. Above that was a section with four panels decorated with Greek patterns. This section held a clock. However, the clock was removed in 1845. The strong winds in Sag Harbor, which powered many windmills, made the clock run incorrectly. The very top of the steeple was a slender spire with a weather vane.
In the late 1800s, two friends, George Sterling and Roosevelt Johnson, climbed to the very top of the steeple one Saturday night. They nailed a homemade pirate flag there! Churchgoers were very surprised to see it on Sunday morning. The flag stayed up for a week before someone had to be hired to take it down.
The steeple was destroyed during the Great Hurricane of 1938. People started trying to raise money to rebuild it in 1952. In 1997, there was an idea to put a cell phone tower inside a new steeple to help pay for it. In 2000, it was thought that rebuilding the steeple would cost about $2,000,000.
Church History
The very first building for the First Presbyterian Church in Sag Harbor was built in 1766. It was called the "Old Barn Church." It was a simple wooden building with just walls and a roof, but no ceiling or plastered inside walls. One minister said that if it rained during church, he had to move to a corner of the pulpit to avoid getting wet!
The "Old Barn Church" was taken down, and a second church was built in 1816. They even used some of the wood from the old building. As more people joined the church, the 1816 building became too small. So, the current church building was constructed in 1844. The land for the new church cost $2,000, and the building itself cost $17,000 before it was even furnished.
In 1994, the U.S. government named the church a National Historic Landmark. The church community still hopes to rebuild the tall steeple someday.
The 1816 church building was sold and used for other things. It was known as "the Atheneum" and was a place for community talks and plays. Sadly, it burned down in 1924.
Restoring the Church
In 1950, the church had to close for many months because its ceiling was not safe. It reopened in July 1952 after being fully repaired. The modern electric lights were removed. They were replaced with a chandelier and side lights that looked like the church's original lights, which used whale oil.
Another big restoration project started in the 1990s. The state government helped pay for it because the building was so historically important. During this time, they found proof that Minard Lafever had designed the church in the 1800s. A letter was found from a young cabinetmaker who worked on the building in 1843. He wrote that Lafever was the architect. Finding this letter helped the church get more money for its restoration because of its important design.
Modern Use of the Church
The First Presbyterian congregation still uses the church today. They meet for services every Sunday morning.
See also
- Egyptian Revival architecture
