Excellence Award Spotlight: Central Presbyterian Church
The exterior restoration of Central Presbyterian Church has been named one of this year’s Excellence in Historic Preservation award winners.
“When first told that decay to our building’s facade would require disassembling the entire bell tower, replacing the steel inside, and rebuilding it stone for stone, we nearly abandoned the project altogether. The task seemed insurmountable,” said Jason Harris, Senior Pastor of Central Presbyterian Church. “But thanks to the hard work and generous support of countless people, we have been able to not only restore our facade, bell tower, and stained-glass windows, but also install a new 50-bell carillon in the bell tower that had been silent for over 90 years. Especially given the challenges of the past year and a half, it is our earnest prayer that our renewed congregation and the return of the sound of bells will signal a note of hope for the future.”
Located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Central Presbyterian Church was designed by architect Henry C. Pelton in association with Allen & Collens and constructed between 1920-1922. Despite the high quality of the original materials and craftmanship, natural weathering and material fatigue eventually took their toll on the church. As a result, the church had been shrouded in sidewalk bridging for years, littered with fragments of broken limestone. Almost 100 years after its construction, the congregation embarked on a restoration project.
What began as a triage approach to repairs ultimately became a comprehensive restoration effort. The darkened stone facades were cleaned with water and a soft micro-abrasive. The limestone bell tower was completely disassembled from the steel frame and reconstructed with improved detailing. Deteriorated stones throughout were repaired or replaced in-kind (carved off-site or in-situ). The existing stucco at the secondary facades was removed and the original effect was replicated to mimic the natural granite and limestone at the primary facades. All the stained-glass windows were removed, completely restored with new lead, and re-installed. The three sets of wood entry doors were restored. Roofing at the setback and main roofs was replaced. Long empty, a new carillon of 50 bronze bells which were cast in France was installed inside the restored bell tower.
“Historic churches across the country are struggling to maintain their buildings, which are often highly decorative, detailed, and large,” said Preservation League President Jay DiLorenzo. “The Central Presbyterian Exterior Restoration is a wonderful example of a congregation rallying to preserve its history. The craftsmanship of the restoration is truly excellent, and the rehabilitated facade will not only be a point of pride for the Church, but also to anyone walking down Park Avenue.”
Two members of the project team pose with a newly cast bronze bell. The long-empty bell tower now houses a 50-bell carillon. Photo courtesy of Walter B. Melvin Architects
Central Presbyterian Exterior Restoration Project team included: Central Presbyterian Church – Jason Harris, Senior Pastor, Dan Miracola, Director of Finance and Operations, James Johnson, Building Committee, Wilma Jordan, Building Committee, Peter Milligan, Building Committee; Walter B. Melvin Architects, LLC – Robert C. Bates, Principal, Bruce Barton, Associate, Megan Rispoli, Project Manager, Christian Velez, Technical Personnel; Old Structures Engineering, PC – Donald Friedman, Principal, Angela Nappi, Project Manager; West New York Restoration of CT, Inc. – Alan Gallicchio, Vice President, Tomasz Mikucki, Project Manager, Ramon Figueroa, Scaffolding, Wieslaw Kraszewski, Foreman; Femenella & Associates, Inc. – Patrick Baldoni, Vice President, Maris Franco, Project Manager, Matthew Mayer, Foreman; Fonderie Paccard – Philippe Paccard, Cyril Paccard; B&H Art-in-Architecture, Ltd – Shi-Jia Chen, President, Muneto Maekawa, Daisuke Kiyomiya; Zoric Construction Corp. – John Zoric, Owner; Bird Deterrent: Bird Master – John Pace, President.
Click here for everything about the 2021 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award winners!
Since 1984, the Preservation League’s statewide awards program has highlighted projects, organizations, publications, and individuals that exemplify best practices in historic preservation and recognize the people who are using historic preservation to build stronger neighborhoods, create local jobs, provide affordable housing, open our eyes to overlooked history, and save the places that are special to all of us.