St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York

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St. Bartholomew's Church, Park Avenue, New York City.
St. Bartholomew's Church, Park Avenue, New York City.
'Note: This article is about the church in Manhattan, New York. For other churches or places named St. Bartholomew's, see St. Bartholomew's disambiguation.

St. Bartholomew's Church, commonly called St. Bart’s, is an historic Episcopal parish founded in January 1835, and located on the east side of Park Avenue between 50th and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

[edit] Architecture

The original free and simplified Byzantine design by Bertram Goodhue (1916-17), called "a jewel in a monumental setting" by Christine Smith in 1988[1] was somewhat compromised by the requirement that the French Romanesque portal[2] be preserved from the previous church and re-erected on the new site.[3] It had been paid for by the family of Cornelius Vanderbilt II as a memorial, was designed by McKim, Mead, and White (1902-03) and was beloved by the parishioners. The magnificent bronze doors, with bas-reliefs in panels depicting episodes from the Old and New Testaments, had been carried out by some of New York's established sculptors: Andrew O'Connor,[4] working freely under the general direction of Daniel Chester French, executed the main door; the south door was executed by Herbert Adams, the north door by Philip Martiny.

St. Bartholomew's, 2004
St. Bartholomew's, 2004

The foundation stone of Goodhue's original design, a vast, unified barrel-vaulted[5] space, without side aisles or chapels and with severely reduced transepts, was laid 1 May 1917[6] and the construction was sufficiently far along for the church to be consecrated in 1918; its design was altered during construction, after Goodhue's sudden, unexpected death in 1924, by his office associates, in partnership as Mayers, Murray and Philips; they were engaged in erecting the community house, continuing with the same materials, subtly variegated salmon and cream-colored bricks and creamy Indiana limestone; they designed the terrace that still provides the equivalent of a small square, surrounded by the cliff-like facades of Midtown commercial structures (illustration, upper right); in summer, supplied with umbrellas and tables, it becomes Café St. Bart's. They also inserted the "much discussed"[7] dome, tile-patterned on the exterior and with a polychrome Hispano-Moresque interior dome, which substituted for the spire that had been planned but never built.[8] Completed in 1930, the church contains stained-glass windows and mosaics by Hildreth Meiere, and a marble baptismal font by the Danish follower of Canova, Bertel Thorvaldsen. St. Bartholomew's, completed by 1930 at a cost of $5,400,000,[9] is one of the city's landmarks. For long one of New York's wealthiest parishes, St. Bart's is known for a wide range of programs. It draws parishioners from all areas of New York City and surroundings.

[edit] Music

Contents

St. Bartholomew's is noted for its pipe organ, the largest in New York and one of the ten largest in the world. One of the church's former choir-directors was the famous conductor Leopold Stokowski, who was brought from Europe by St. Bart's; he was followed by the organist choirmaster David McK. Williams. The church's choir has achieved distinction under the direction of conductors such as William Trafka and James Litton. The Chorister Program has also had success in bringing together children ages 6–18 to sing in the church, and has been featured on shows such as The Today Show and Good Morning America.

[edit] Landmark status

Saint Bartholomew's Church and Community House was designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1967,[10] a move opposed at the time by the rector and vestry. Beginning in 1981, St. Bartholomew's found itself the subject of a much-publicized case concerning air rights in the highly-competitive New York real estate market clashing with historical preservation. The parishioners wanted to replace the community house and open terrace with a speculative high-rise commercial structure that would re-capitalize the parish's depleted funds; following a series of public hearing the Landmarks Preservation Commission turned down the plans for a fifty-nine story office building The case, St. Bartholomew's vs New York Landmarks Preservation Commission (1990), raised as a constitutional issue the question whether churches and religious buildings should be exempt from historic ordinances.[11] went as far as the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear an appeal. It was a victory for landmark preservation that cast the parish in a poor light and proved divisive.

[edit] Center for Religious Inquiry

Shield of the Episcopal Church USA
Shield of the Episcopal Church USA

The Center for Religious Inquiry (CRI) is an inter-religious program based at St. Bartholomew’s Church and directed by Rabbi Leonard A. Schoolman. It is based on the premise that there are few opportunities for religious seekers who can study their own and other religious traditions in a safe and non-judgmental environment. Schoolman was previously the founding director of the Center for Theological Studies at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, which served as a prototype for the program at St. Bart's. CRI offers a vast array of opportunities for religious seekers of any background or affiliation to learn in an open and welcoming environment. Instructors are distinguished academics, known for solid and engaging teaching skills. Classes are designed for anyone who is interested in religious and spiritual matters, those exploring their own faiths or other religions, and anyone else who loves to learn. Harvard Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, Columbia University, the University of Chicago, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, and Union Theological Seminary are some of the institutions whose faculty have participated in CRI programs since its inception in the Fall of 1999.

[edit] Clergy Blogs

The Rev. William Tully has been rector of St. Bartholomew's since September 1994. In keeping with St. Bart's stated goal of outreach to the community and nation, Tully accepted and participates in a "blogging mission" at the church. Its inception was July 27, 2006. St. Bart's is groundbreaking in the ministry of blogging for Episcopal churches. Or, as Tully's blog states, "None of the seven of us who have—maybe with a little fear and trembling—agreed to begin these journals have done anything like this, so bear with us as we learn." The clergy who participate in blogging are: William Tully, Kevin Bean, Elizabeth Garnsey, Gideon Pollach, Bruce Forbes, and J.D. Clarke (deacon).

[edit] Image Gallery

View from the north on Park Avenue

First stained glass window from the entrance on the north side of the church.

Stained glass rose window over balcony overlooking the pews.

Facing west, silhouette of the organ against stained glass panels in balcony.

The altar.

Angel praying towards relief of the Last Supper in the baptismal chamber north of the altar.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Smith, St. Bartholomew's Church in the City of New York (New York: Oxford University press) 1988, discusses Goodhue's use of his sources, the technology of early twentieth-century construction, drawing from parish records and Goodhue's office papers.
  2. ^ The inspiration was the church of Saint-Gilles, Gard, between Arles and Nimes, which Stanford White had admired in 1878, but the sculptures in the tympana are Renaissance-inspired.
  3. ^ James Renwick's Old St. Bartholomew's stood at the southwest corner of Madison Avenue and 44th Street (WPA Guide; Gray 2006).
  4. ^ O'Connor was a primary assistant of French.
  5. ^ The church makes much use of Guastavino tile for its vaulting.
  6. ^ To the Glory of God this foundation stone was laid on the first day of May in the Year of our Lord MD CCCC XVII and of the Reformation The Four Hundredth by the Right Reverend David Hummel Greer - Bishop of New York - Sometime Rector of this Parish (Foundation stone)
  7. ^ WPA Guide.
  8. ^ In Goodhue's former studio at 2 West 47th Street, Christopher Gray noted the discovery of "a photograph of the office's reception room containing a huge model of St. Bartholomew's with a giant spire that was never built." (Gray, "Streetscapes: 2 West 47th Street, the Office of R. O. Blechman", The New York Times 16 April 2000.
  9. ^ The WPA Guide to New York (1939) 1982:236f
  10. ^ Andrew Dolkart, Matthew A. Postal, Guide to New York City Landmarks, (New York: John Wiley & Sons) 2003:120, no. 336.
  11. ^ The case is briefly discussed in Norman Tyler, Historic Preservation: An Introduction to Its History, Principles, and Practice (W.W. Norton) 2000:88ff

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 40°45′27″N, 73°58′23″W

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