St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Brewster, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Andrew's Episcopal Church |
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Front elevation and tower, 2008
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | ECUSA |
| Year consecrated | 1903 |
| Location | |
| Location | Brewster, NY, United States |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Edward Pearce Casey, Arthur Durant Sneden |
| Architectural type | church |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian Gothic |
| General contractor | A.W. Burritt Co. |
| Groundbreaking | 1900 |
| Completed | 1903 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | west |
| Materials | granite, slate |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Added to NRHP | November 23, 1998 |
| NRHP Reference no. | 98001427 |
| Website | |
| St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Brewster, NY | |
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church is a historic church building in Brewster, New York. It is located at the corner of Prospect and Michael Neuner streets. People started meeting for church services here in 1872. The church officially became part of the American Episcopal Church ten years later. The building you see today was finished in 1903. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 because of its special history and design.
This church is actually the third one built on this spot. A wealthy church member named Seth Howes offered to pay for a new stone church. It would replace the first wooden building. He hired architects Edward Pearce Casey and Arthur Durant Sneden. They designed a church that looked like old English country churches. These were some of the first to use the Gothic Revival architectural style. Sadly, this stone church burned down just months after it was finished. But it was quickly rebuilt. The current building has beautiful stained glass windows. Some were made by Calvert & Kimberly, who learned from Louis Comfort Tiffany. The large window at the front, dedicated to Seth Howes, might even be a Tiffany original. The main part of the church has stayed the same since it was built. A new section was added in 1961.
Contents
The Church Building
The church stands on a large corner lot, about 20,000 square feet. The building is shaped like a cross. Its strong granite walls are about two feet (50 cm) thick. The tower and the main part of the church, called the nave, have strong supports called buttresses. The tower has a large clock and heavy red wooden double doors at the entrance. The nave has a cross-shaped roof covered in slate. The top of the belfry looks like a castle wall. Inside, it holds a big bell that weighs about 1,576 pounds (715 kg).
On the south side, there is a wooden porch with another entrance. It looks similar to the main one. On the north side, a path leads to the Great Hall wing. This part was built later. It uses similar designs and materials to match the older church.
Inside the nave, you can see a special roof called a hammerbeam roof. Its wooden rafters are exposed and made of shiny varnished pine. The floor has two rows of oak pews with three aisles for walking. The south side, which used to be an entrance area, now has a small chapel and a columbarium. This is a place where people's ashes are kept. On the north side, there are more pews and some of the organ's pipes. In the choir area, you'll find the organ and its other pipes. There is also the altar and two fancy balconies. The stained glass windows along the walls tell stories about Christ. The main window at the front shows Jesus sitting on a throne.
Church Design and Style
Seth Howes, who gave a lot of money to the church, loved the small country churches he saw in England. He wanted his church in upstate New York to look like them. Many believe he specifically asked for the hammerbeam roof. The architects focused on simple, flowing lines to make the church beautiful. They avoided fancy decorations often seen in later Gothic Revival buildings, like gargoyles or flying buttresses. Even today, it is one of the few stone churches in Putnam County.
Church History
The 19th Century
In 1872, people in Brewster started meeting for Sunday school in the new town hall. These meetings continued for eight years. But in 1880, the town hall burned down. Seth Howes, who grew up in Brewster, had become rich from his circus business and real estate in Chicago. He returned home to retire. He led the church members in building a small wooden church on the land where the current church stands. It opened in 1881. The next year, the church officially became part of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. This was the start of the church as a formal group.
Over the next ten years, the church started two smaller chapels in nearby towns. These chapels later rejoined the main church. This happened when New York City bought the land for one of its reservoirs. Seth Howes, who was building his large Morningthorpe estate south of Brewster, offered to pay for a new, more stylish church. He used extra stone from his estate project.
He hired Edward Pearce Casey, known for his work on the Library of Congress's Thomas Jefferson Building. He also hired Arthur Durant Sneden, a top designer for the New York City Board of Education. Casey drew the main plan for the church. Sneden focused on the smaller details. Seth Howes had traveled a lot and loved English country churches. He insisted that the architects follow that style.
The 20th and 21st Centuries
The new church was ready for Easter services in 1901. This was just two weeks before Seth Howes passed away. About two and a half months later, a fire badly damaged the inside of the new church. It was almost completely destroyed. But it was carefully rebuilt exactly as it was before. The church was officially opened in 1903.
In the late 1920s, under the leadership of The Rev. F.A. Coleman, the church grew. It started groups like a Women's Auxiliary, The Girl's Friendly Society, and the St. Andrew's Guild. These groups helped the community. In 1961, the Great Hall was built. This was the only addition to the church since it was first built and rebuilt. It provided space for community meetings and Sunday school programs.
The Rev. Lawrence Larson became the rector in the 1980s. He helped the church reach out even more. Besides a nursery school that had recently started, he helped create the Brewster Community Food Pantry. He worked with two other local churches on this project. Both the nursery school and the food pantry are still helping people today.
In 2000, the church welcomed The Rev. Terri Heyduk. She was the first permanent female rector, and she served until 2009. She helped the church buy the house next door on Prospect Street. This house was used as a consignment shop for some time.
The church held its last service around Easter 2019. There were fewer people attending, and the old building cost more to maintain. Because of this, it became too difficult to keep the church open, and it had to close.
See also
Images for kids
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1881 wooden church building
