St. Michael's Episcopal Church (Birdsboro, Pennsylvania) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Michael's Episcopal Church,
Parish House and Rectory |
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New First Baptist Church of Birdsboro in 2011. St. Michael's was renamed in 2005.
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 Location in Pennsylvania
Location in the United States
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| Location | Mill and Church Sts., Birdsboro, Pennsylvania |
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| Area | 0.8 acres (0.32 ha) |
| Built | 1853, 1873, 1877-78, expanded 1884-85, 1892 |
| Architect | George Brooke, Furness & Evans Levi H. Focht, contractor |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival, Late Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 82001531 |
| Added to NRHP | December 20, 1982 |
The St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Parish House and Rectory is a group of important old buildings in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. These buildings are located at 200-216 North Mill Street in Berks County, Pennsylvania. In 1982, they were added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, which is a list of places important to American history.
Before 2003, the church building was known for still looking very much like it did when it was first built. Many of its original features, like stained-glass windows and a pipe organ, were still there. In 2005, the property was sold and is now known as the New First Baptist Church of Birdsboro.
Contents
Building the First Church (1853)
The St. Michael's church group started in 1851. The first church building was finished in 1853. It was built on land given by two brothers, Edward and George Brooke. They owned the Birdsboro Iron Foundry Company, which later became Birdsboro Steel Corporation.
George Brooke designed the church building in a style called "Norman-Gothic." He and his brother also gave the church an organ, a bell for its bell tower, and other improvements. The Parish House, which had a chapel, Sunday School rooms, and a reading room, was finished in 1873. It was also a gift from the Brooke brothers. George likely designed this building too.
Frank Furness's Designs
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Frank Furness was a famous architect who designed buildings for the Reading Railroad. He designed their train station in Birdsboro in 1874, but that building was torn down in 1967. The Brooke brothers worked with the Reading Railroad. Edward Brooke hired Furness to change his large house, "Brooke Manor," around 1875.
The design of St. Michael's Rectory, a house for the church's minister, was built between 1877 and 1878. It was either designed by George Brooke or Frank Furness. This brownstone house was another gift from the Brooke family. Later, Furness made more changes to the rectory. He changed the roof, moved the entrance to a new three-story part, and added a bay window where the old entrance used to be. These changes probably happened when the church itself was made bigger. You can see Furness's changes in an old picture of Birdsboro from 1890.
Making the Church Bigger (1884-1885)
After his older brother Edward passed away, George Brooke hired Frank Furness again. This time, Furness was asked to make the church building much larger. Furness made the main part of the church, called the nave, longer. He also added two side sections, called transepts, which made the church look like a cross from above. He also added a bell tower with a tall steeple to one side.
The builder for this project was Levi H. Focht, who lived in Birdsboro. He had built many train stations for the Reading Railroad that Furness designed. The outside of the church was covered in brownstone. A wooden porte cochere, which is a covered entrance for carriages, was built on one side. The roof was made of colorful slate, and a large gold cross sat on top of the steeple.
Furness was the son of a minister. He tried out some new ideas in St. Michael's Church that he also used in another church he was building in Philadelphia. Both churches had high, curved ceilings, brightly colored walls, and tall windows that let in a lot of natural light. For St. Michael's, Furness chose royal-blue ceilings and red walls with gold decorations. This was a color plan he had used before in another famous building. Furness also designed the church's furniture, like the altar and pews. The large pipe organ had pipes decorated with colorful flowers, similar to Pennsylvania Dutch folk art.
The Brooke family paid over $12,000 for these improvements, which was a lot of money back then. The larger church was officially opened on May 31, 1885.
More Changes in 1892
In 1892, the chancel, which is the area around the altar, was made 10 feet longer and 6 feet wider. This allowed for choir stalls to be added. This work was done by a designer named R. Geissler and the builder Levi H. Focht. At this time, a special stained-glass window called the Edward Brooke Memorial Window was moved. It was made by Tiffany Studios in 1887 and was moved from one part of the church to above the altar.
Over the years, more stained-glass windows, including another one by Tiffany Studios, and other decorations were added to the church.
Changes Over Time
The Birdsboro Steel Corporation's factory closed in 1988. This was a big problem for the town's economy. By 2001, when St. Michael's celebrated its 150th birthday, there were not enough people in the church to pay for a full-time minister. The Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania closed the church in July 2002.
In January 2003, the church's stained-glass windows, pews, altars, and pipe organ were removed. These items were supposed to be given only to other Episcopal churches. However, some of them were offered for sale online. The Edward Brooke Memorial Window, which had been above the altar for 110 years, is now in a museum in Chicago, Illinois. Parts of the pipe organ were used for other organs.
The church property was sold to a different church group in 2005. It is now known as the New First Baptist Church of Birdsboro.
Why These Buildings Are Important
George E. Thomas, a historian who studies Frank Furness's buildings, wrote the application to add St. Michael's to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. He wrote that the church buildings show Furness's work when he was at his best. Thomas noted how Furness used materials and building methods to create his designs.
He also pointed out the bright colors inside the church, which are still mostly original. This color scheme was important because it showed Furness's ideas about color. It also reminded people of what Furness's father had said: that a church architect should design a building that would keep people awake, even if the sermon was boring! Thomas believed that Furness definitely achieved this with St. Michael's. Even though Furness added to and changed the existing buildings, the church today is mostly seen as his work.
Images for kids
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New First Baptist Church of Birdsboro in 2011. St. Michael's was renamed in 2005.
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St. Michael's Rectory, from Mill Street. Furness moved the entrance to the side.
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Furness's expansion of the church and alterations to the rectory are visible in this detail from an 1890 panorama.
See also
