St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Troy, New York)

The St. Paul 's Episcopal Church is a church building in Troy, New York. It stands at the intersection of Third Street ( the northbound U.S. 4) and State Street and is home to one of the oldest churches in the city. On September 7, 1979, the church and two neighboring buildings to the National Register of Historic Places have been added. She is a contributing property of the Central Troy Historic District created later, the 1986 was entered in this register.

The building built in the mid -1820s and is a direct copy built by Ithiel Town in New Haven, Connecticut Trinity Church and one of the earliest churches in America, made ​​the use of elements of the Gothic Revival. With renovations at the end of the 1890s, leaded glass windows and other works of Louis Comfort Tiffany were added inside.

Church complex

Besides the church located on the plot two more buildings to the east is the Guild House and the Martha Memorial House, which is attached to the northeast corner, is used as an administrative building for the church.

The church itself is a rectangular building that has five spans in length and three in width. The facade is made of limestone blocks, which are laid in a random ashlar pattern and is finished to the acorns of hewn pilasters. Are located on the south side five lancet windows on the north side there are only four of them. Both the western and the eastern facade each have three similar windows. The roofline is accented by an ornate wooden cornice. A thirty -meter-high tower rises above the main entrance on the west facade. Inside the crenellated tower a one thousand kilograms heavy bell is housed.

The front entrance is reflected at the Wayside Chapel. The pews divided by three courses. Chandeliers illuminate the individual sections and stained glass lamp hanging above the altar. The high ceiling is supported by wooden beams; she and the aperture of the clerestory are carved and verschmückt with gold colored leaves made ​​of aluminum.

The Guild House, originally the seat of the municipality, is a three-story limestone building on the west side, the design of which should correspond with the Church. The interior fittings of wood and the windows are original, however, other renovations have been made. The Martha Memorial House has a similar shape and size, but built of brick. This has been modernized comprehensive, but a chapel on the second floor remained intact as well as the windows, wood interior and the stairwell.

Aesthetics

The church shows the influence of the English churches of the 16th century and, by the rough surface and the irregular masonry, a touch of contemporary picturesque style ideas.

The structure mimics Towns Trinity Church in every way after, except for the color of the facade by the use of another rock because the original is built of granite. The tower of the building in New Haven was later replaced, so that the church today close to the original in Troy, as this itself

History

The congregation was founded in 1795, not long after the registration as Troy's Village. With the financial support of Trinity Church in New York City, and thanks to the drive by the first Rector Reverend David Butler, the community built its first church in 1804 at the intersection of Third and Congress Street. 1818 was that building, the only building in Troy with a pipe organ. 1826 gave the church, whose membership was greatly increased by the now newly founded as City city, new building in order.

The contract stipulated that the new church a copy of Ithiel Towns Trinity Church in New Haven, Connecticut should be, which was completed in 1817. The only significant difference was in appearance, since the facade of Trinity Church New Haven consisted of brown granites, while has been used in St. Paul's blue - gray limestone, which was broken in Amsterdam near Troy. Foundation stone was laid in 1826, two years later, the new church building of its use are passed.

In the years after the Civil War the church renovations first began in 1869, with today's Guild House. The battlements and pinnacles on the cornices were removed and the bell tower changed when a new bell was installed in the 1870s. The Martha House was built in 1881. It was originally a residence for the Sisters of the Church. Six years later, this outbuilding was a second floor. The construction of the Martha Houses went one of the windows lost on the north side of the church. Otherwise, the appearance of the church corresponds to the original state.

Inside the building were added in brass in the 1880s, a pulpit. These measures led to major renovations after enough money was collected to remove some of the structural problems of the original design. Hidden pillars of steel were confiscated and the ceiling was so transformed that the carriers are now visible. The former principal was very taken on a journey through Europe by the great Gothic churches and as Louis Comfort Tiffany was commissioned to decorate the interior of the building after the renovations. It was subsequently added by local artisans, a large part of the work of glass and wood. The stained glass windows were used shortly thereafter.

In the 20th century, followed by a few more tags. The Guild House was added in 1914 a third floor. The church itself was in 1921 their current organ, the Wayside Chapel during the 1940s and the glass doors were installed in the 1960s.