3 more sites to be inducted into Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame
Inductees include St. Stephen’s Church in Middleport, Christ Church in Rochester, Albion Academy Apartments (former Grammar School) with Sandstone Park in Albion to receive Heritage Award
Photos by Tom Rivers: The former Albion Grammar School, now the Albion Academy Apartments, will be inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame today, one of three new inductees.
MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Society will induct three sites into its Hall of Fame today during at 1:30 p.m. ceremony at Medina’s City Hall.
The new inductees bring the total to 46 since the Hall of Fame was started in 2013. The Hall of Fame is located in the main meeting room at Medina City Hall, 600 Main St.
The new inductees include:
STEPHEN’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, Middleport, NY
St. Stephen’s Catholic Church was built in 1908 at 21 Vernon St. in Middleport.
For more than a century, St. Stephen’s Catholic Church was a spiritual home for the faithful in Middleport, a village in eastern Niagara County.
The congregation formed in 1854, and the church building was constructed in 1908 at 21 Vernon St. The local Catholics were diligent stewards of this site for the next 117 years.
St. Stephen’s celebrated its final Mass on Jan. 12, 2025. It closed as part of a restructuring in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo due to a shortage of priests and declining attendance.
The church has been combined with St. Mary’s Church in Medina as part of the Holy Trinity Parish.
“We recall the great many blessings that have come into our lives and community from this church,” Father Mark Noonan said during the final Mass.
The church was the site for more than a century for baptisms, weddings, funerals, communions and confessions.
St. Stephen’s may be on a side street, but it is a dominant building in the community. The building has been a landmark in Middleport since the building’s construction. The top of the large church looms over trees and downtown buildings that are blocks away.
St. Stephen’s was inducted into the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Oct. 23, 2025.
CHRIST CHURCH, Rochester NY
Christ Church at 141 East Ave. in Rochester was built in stages between 1883 and 1894 with the Johnson Tower, the tallest part of the church, completed in 1903.
Christ Church in Rochester was founded as an Episcopal parish in 1854. The cornerstone of Gothic Revival edifice was laid in 1883. The church at 141 East Ave. was built in stages between 1883 and 1894, using rock-faced red sandstone from Albion. The Johnson Tower, the tallest part of the church, was added in 1903.
The church was designed by nationally renowned architect Robert Gibson, and includes buttresses, flying buttresses, and a polygonal apse.
Christ Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. It is also part of the Eastman Historic District. In 2022, Christ Church received a Merit Award from the Landmark Society of Western New York for a restoration project to repair its aging infrastructure and preserve its historic beauty.
The church is noted for its soaring ceilings, excellent acoustics, and numerous Tiffany stained-glass windows, mosaics and tiling. The church’s location and superb acoustics have made it a major musical venue in Rochester. Many Eastman School of Music rehearse and perform there.
Christ Church also embraces artistic expression and contemplative practices. In addition to its regular services, it hosts candlelight and virtual concerts, gallery exhibits, and seasonal events.
ALBION ACADEMY APARTMENTS (FORMER GRAMMAR SCHOOL), Albion, NY
This photo shows the community room in the former Grammar School, which was turned into 30 apartments for senior citizens, as well as the base for Meals on Wheels and a day rehabilitation program for Arc GLOW.
The striking grey Medina Sandstone building at 16 East Academy St. in Albion was originally a four-story school, built in 1906.
The 55,000-square-foot site has been transformed, becoming 30 apartments for senior citizens on the second to fourth floors, while the bottom floor is used for Meals on Wheels, and a day rehabilitation program for Arc GLOW.
The $7 million renovation has given the build a new purpose, providing vital services in the community for housing, nutrition and rehabilitation.
PathStone, known as Rural Opportunities at the time, took on the ambitious project with construction starting in September 2007 and the building opening in 2009.
The project involved repairing the Medina Sandstone exterior, restoring the grand main entrance with wood wainscoting and stamped tin ceilings, and preserving the grand staircase, moldings, and wood trim throughout the building.
Modern apartments were created within the former classrooms and auditorium, designed to maximize natural light and utilize the original window openings. The entire building was made fully accessible in accordance with ADA standards.
This project was honored by AIA Rochester for urban building re-use, the APWA with a Historic Preservation Award, and the NAIOP with a Historic Adaptive/Re-Use Award.
Heritage Award – SANDSTONE PARK, Albion NY
This photo shows one of the Little League teams for Sandstone Park in the late 1950s. Sandstone Park was an original member of the Albion Midget League in 1956 and has fielded a team every season. Next year will be the 70th anniversary of the league.
In 1954, volunteers created a baseball field and park on East State Street in Albion by a former quarry. Since then, generations of families have cared for the property, and fielded a Little League team every year.
Sandstone Park wears a distinctive bright orange uniform. The teams are often among the top contenders in the Albion Midget League. Sandstone is one of the original teams in a league that formed in 1956. Sandstone has had a team every year, and they play on one of the best fields in the area.
That field got a major makeover in 2021 with new bleachers, dugouts, a fence in the outfield, upgraded backstop and a new flagpole. Other improvements have followed with a new concessions stand, rehabbed equipment shed, and expanded parking.
A non-profit board oversees the park, and many, many volunteers keep up the field and work with the team.
They keep “Sandstone” prominent in the Albion community, and continue to bring pride to the quarrymen families who helped establish the park more than 70 years ago. Those families in the neighborhood back in 1954 paid the village $25 for 16 acres to create the park.
A sandstone plaque in the shape of home plate was placed near the base of the new flagpole in 2021. That plaque states:
“Sandstone Park – Our Greatest Generation created a unique neighborhood recreation area for the children on East State Street and the village. Generations of volunteers allowed Sandstone to provide and maintain the sense of fair play and sportsmanship the founders worked to instill in their children. The residents of East State Street and the Village of Albion are forever in their debt. To the Greatest Generation – Thank You!”
Sandstone Park recently completed several improvements to the field on East State Street which is named in honor of the late Steve Coville, a long-time coach of the team.
Editor’s Note: Orleans Hub editor Tom Rivers is a member of the Medina Sandstone Society board of directors and is currently chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee.
