St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Peekskill, New York) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Peter's Episcopal Church |
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Church tower from west, 2008
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Episcopal Church in the United States of America |
| Location | |
| Location | Peekskill, NY USA |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Richard M. Upjohn |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Neo-Gothic Revival |
| Completed | 1892 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | west |
| Spire height | 60 feet (18 m) |
| Materials | Stone, slate |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Added to NRHP | 2003 |
| NRHP Reference no. | 03000598 |
| Website | |
| St. Peter's Church | |
St. Peter's Episcopal Church is a historic church in Peekskill, New York. It is made up of three stone buildings that were built in the late 1800s. The church property is about half an acre (2,000 square meters) in size.
The church itself started in a nearby area called Van Cortlandtville, even before the American Revolution. It was first known as Old St. Peter's Church. The building you see today is the third church on this spot. It was designed by a famous architect named Richard M. Upjohn. His design looks like the old English country churches his father used to build. In 2003, St. Peter's Episcopal Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's a very important historic site.
Contents
About the Church Property
The church property is located at the corner of Howard and North Division streets. It sits just outside the main historic area of Peekskill. A park called Pugsley Park is to the east of the church. The land gently slopes up as you go north.
The Church Buildings
There are three main buildings on the property: the church hall with a special covered gate (called a lychgate), the church house, and the parish house. All these buildings are important to the church's history and its listing on the National Register.
The main part of the church, called the nave, is a one-story building made of stone blocks called granite. It has a pointed roof covered with slate tiles. Two smaller parts with sloped roofs run along the north and south sides. The lychgate and the bell tower, which both face North Division Street, were added later.
The lychgate has a wooden roof. The bell tower is 16 feet (4.8 meters) wide and is made of the same stone as the church. It has Gothic-style vents for the bells and strong supports (called buttresses) at its corners. Double doors on the west side lead down to the street.
Inside, the nave has a long central aisle with wooden pews (church benches). Wooden panels cover the lower walls, and the wooden ceiling beams are visible. The area near the altar, called the chancel, has a tiled floor and a curved ceiling. It features a marble altar and a decorated screen behind it (called a reredos). The walls have 12 tall, narrow stained glass windows, and a round rose window is located behind the altar.
Other Buildings on the Property
The Howard House, which used to be where the pastor lived, is on the northwest side of the property. It's a two-story brick house with three sections. It was built in the Greek Revival style. A later addition to the north has a two-story bay window. There's also a one-story brick section at the back.
The front of the main house has decorative vents near the roof and a fancy trim (cornice) supported by brackets. The main entrance has a classic design with a window above the door. Inside, many of the original plaster decorations are still there, including fancy frames around the doors and windows.
Behind the Howard House, on the northeast side, is the Frost Memorial Parish House. This is a two-story building with five sections, built in a style that looks like old English Tudor homes. It has stucco walls and decorative wooden beams. Its roof is covered in slate tiles. The main entrance at the north end is a two-story section that sticks out.
The first floor inside is a large open space for meetings, with linoleum floors and plaster walls. It has fake wooden beams on the ceiling. The second floor has church offices and classrooms for a day-care center.
Church History
St. Peter's Church was started a long time ago, during the time of the Colonial era. Its first church building was officially opened in 1767, and it's still used today. In 1838, a man named Ward Howard, who lived in Peekskill, gave the church some land behind his house. A wooden church was then built on this land.
In 1882, the church bought Howard's house and turned it into a home for their pastor. Seven years later, in 1889, the church members decided to build a new church on the land Ward Howard had given them. They chose a design by Richard M. Upjohn. His father, also named Richard Upjohn, was a famous architect who designed many churches and homes. The younger Upjohn's design was inspired by the simple Gothic English country churches that were popular for Episcopal churches in the Northeast. Unlike other large buildings of that time, this church has very little extra decoration.
The church tower was added in 1905, after Richard M. Upjohn had passed away. It might have been part of his original plan. In the 1910s, a new section was added to the back of the Howard House. The parish house was built in 1913. Richard M. Upjohn's son, Hobart Upjohn, designed the changes made to the inside of the church in 1926. The decorated screen behind the altar (reredos) was painted by a local nun in 1934. The last change to the buildings was a new section added to the parish house in 1964.
See also
