Second Baptist Church (Poughkeepsie, New York)

The Second Baptist Church is a church in Poughkeepsie, New York in the United States. It stands on the corner of Vassar and Mill Street. It is a wooden building, which originated in the late 1830s in the classical style. It is the last church in this style in the City of Poughkeepsie.

The building was used by various communities of different faiths since its construction, it was even once a synagogue, which may have led to the nickname Vassar Temple, especially as it is on land that once belonged to Matthew Vassar, founder of Vassar College. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1972 and later a contributing building on Mill Street - North Clover Street Historic District.

Building

The church is rectangular. The building comprises three bays in width and six in length. The narrow side of the colonnade is directed to the east. The building is two storey, although it seems that two Present is because the base of brick, except for the south side, is visible. There is also a Attica. The gable roof has a low roof pitch.

Four pilasters on the short side and six on the long front separate the yokes each other. The main entrance is under a portico with Doric columns supporting a flat architrave with frieze, in which flat sheets and triglyphs alternated. The pediment is formed by a eingeschachteltes cornice, a small round transom window is in the center. The two doors have stained glass windows, which correspond to the four larger windows on the long sides.

History

The property is used for religious purposes since the mid- 1830s. At that time it bought a be split off from the presbyters group of the family Matthew Vassars. The design of the church is based on a textbook for master builder from the year 1833. Those days buildings were popular in the classical style and were built as public buildings and private houses. The presbyter elimination did not last long and in 1842 they sold it to the First Congregational Church. The change in ownership and use reflects the demographic trends in the City of Poughkeepsie.

A few years later sold the church the building to a private owner, who donated it in 1859 to the local Masonic Lodge. The following year, it sold the Masonic Lodge to Matthew Vassar, Jr. He sold the church in 1868 at the congregated Brethren of Israel, they thus became the synagogue. The sale Vassars, the use as a synagogue and the colonnade leading to the colloquial name as Vassar Temple.

The Second Baptist Church and the Farmer 's and Manufacturer 's Bank on Market Street are the last two, non-residential serving classical building in Poughkeepsie. Others, such as the former City Hall, were demolished and replaced.