Park Avenue Christian Church Architecture

This church was erected by the Old South Dutch Reformed Church between 1909 and 1911. The New York Landmarks, fourth edition includes this church as one of the structures of importance which are designated for preservation. The building was designed by the firm of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson. Mr. Goodhue was the principal architect whose individualistic style is evident throughout. It suggests Sainte Chapelle in Paris by its mass, fleche and windows. Worth noting is that this church is built in the original gothic manner, only of stone. No steel was used in the
construction.

The crossing of the nave and transept is marked by a feature rare in the United States. Above it a lead and copper fleche rises seventy feet above the ridge. It was cast in England.

The restoration includes the removal of deteriorating stone walls and replacement with matching Manhattan schist of local origin (Bronx Zoo excavations). Major repairs were completed to the fleche and to the water removal systems. All of the stained glass was cleaned, re-leaded as needed and re-supported.

The vaulted ceiling is of Guastavino tile construction set between ribs in English vaulting style. The lighter tile resolved an ancient problem, the heavy weight of the ceiling stones in gothic structures. The tile also provides superior acoustical qualities to the church.

From 1914 until 1945 it was a Presbyterian house of worship. In that year it was purchased by its present owners, Park Avenue Christian Church, a historic congregation dating from 1810, which moved from the West Side on 81st. Street.

The beautifully executed woodwork was done by Irving and Casson and is of interest because every portion is different and no symbols are repeated. The paneling of the original organ facade has been preserved and should be noted. Again, every panel varies from every other one.

While the altar is severely simple, the overall impression is of a rich neo-gothic style. The large windows (now shadowed by neighboring towers) were designed to flood the space with light. The glass in the nave and chancel windows is not fully storied, it contains beautiful stained glass at the apex and each window contains four biblical symbols. The magnificent east window above the narthex is considered some of the finest work of the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany and was crafted in sections from 1880 until 1910.

The Organ

The William Jackson Jarman Memorial Organ was installed in 1982 and is the gift of Clementine Miller Tangeman. Built by the Walter Holtkamp Company of Cleveland, Ohio, the organ is a 51 rank mechanical action instrument of three manuals and pedal. This organ was not placed in the transepts as were earlier instruments, but was placed in the gallery. At that time the choir was moved from the chancel to the gallery as well. This has resulted in far better musical balance for choir and other musical offerings. Concerts utilizing the organ are scheduled periodically.

The Windows

The many windows of the Park Avenue Church make it unusually light and sunny for a Manhattan congregation. The large east window over the entrance is considered one of the finest examples of Tiffany glass in existence. The six middle panels of this window, which depict three scenes from the life of Christ, were temporarily removed from the Old South Church at Thirty-Eighth Street and Madison Avenue in 1893 to be exhibited at the Chicago Columbian Exhibition. The three settings depicted include the nativity, the baptism, and the resurrection of Christ. When the windows were reinstalled in the new 1911 structure, additional glass was added around each pane and in the tracery above.

In 1992 the second phase of an extensive restoration program began, which included the restoration of the stained glass windows and associated cast-stone tracery. Years of settlement and vibration had caused sections of the stained glass to bulge and twist. The project was substantially completed in 1993. A final venture taken in 1994 was to move four of the lower panels, which had been obscured by the installation of the organ in 1982, to empty niches on the north side of the nave. These were completed in time for the congregation’s 184th anniversary celebration October 14-16, 1994.

In the stained glass of the windows, and also in the woodwork, there is much symbolism. Near the top of the chancel windows surrounding the nave are 56 different symbols, each contained in the shape of a shield. The symbols represent the prophets, the life of Christ, the gospel writers, and the apostles. An article in Architecture for September, 1911, contains the challenging sentence: “When some day these windows are filled with storied glass, the effect will be quite unrivaled by anything in America”. It is now clear that this insight was indeed correct.

The six symbols read from right to left in an historical-Scriptural sequence beginning with the earliest. They derive from ancient and modem sources ranging from Early Christian images to contemporary symbols. At their richest, symbols participate in the paradoxical agelessness and modernity of the Gospel. The symbols were researched and designed in 1981 by Jensene Godwin Payne. The carvings were executed by Navedo Woodcraft of Manhattan whose work is installed also at the Morgan Library and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Baptistry

The old South Dutch Reformed church did not originally have a baptistry. When the congregation of the Central Christian Church moved to Park Avenue in 1945, a baptistry given by the B. D. Phillips family was built in the parish house next to the sanctuary to serve the Christian Church practice of baptism by immersion. The congregation was left without its own baptistry when this building was razed in 1963 to prepare for the construction of the Hampton Adams Building.

In 1979, the B. D. Phillips Trust provided for the construction of a baptistry in the sanctuary. The design offered space for wood-carved symbols like others in the chancel. This was an opportunity to include symbols particular to the history and theology of the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.

The symbols include: a deer and the waters of life, the flowering staff of the good shepherd, symbols of servant hood (towel, sandals, and hyssop branch), the loaves and fishes, the Disciples of Christ chalice and five-finger exercise, the ecumenical symbol of the ship.