The historic character...
This modest Gothic Revival church building, featuring twelve distinctive stained glass windows, buttresses, and a gable roof, was built in 1858. It survived into the late 20th century virtually intact. The interior is further defined by its tray ceiling and windows, a choir loft, and, in particular, by the openness of its large space. In summary, this public interior space conveys the primary ecclesiastical purpose for which the church was built.
...and how it was lost in the rehabilitation.
In the rehabilitation of the church for offices and apartments, eight of the stained glass windows were removed, reconfigured, and replaced with clear glass. The large open interior space, an integral component of the historic character of the church, was subdivided by inserting a full second floor. Removing the stained glass windows further changed the historic appearance (although some of the stained glass windows were retained, the new floor cut them in two visually, compromising their size and proportion on the interior).
Finally, demolition of the choir loft, which was integral to the historic function of the sanctuary, further diminished the church's historic character. Because of the cumulative effect of the work, the sense of time and place associated with the church and its historic function was lost and, thus, Standards 2 and 5 were not met.
(National Park Service Photos.)
What should you know?
Rehabilitating historic buildings should always involve the careful preservation of significant interior spaces, features, and finishes in the process of making those changes necssary for a compatible new use. In historic churches, this often includes features, such as stained glass windows, choir lofts, altars, and large open spaces. Alterations that are so extreme that they cause the loss of significant open spaces, or result in the removal of distinctive features and finishes would not meet Standards 2 and 5. Although this particular approach was not successful, some subdivision may have been possible if a sense of the interior space and volume had been retained.
Suggestions from the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation:
Standard 2: The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.
Standard 5: Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shall be preserved.
Source of Story: National Park Service
