By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 30 June 2014 at 11:06 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – The James Prendergast Library in Jamestown was built with Medina sandstone in 1891.
Photo by Tom Rivers
JAMESTOWN – For nearly 125 years the James Prendergast Library has been an iconic structure in the city of Jamestown, a well used public library and a rugged structure.
The site is also a showcase of Medina sandstone, a building that consumes an entire city block on Cherry Street. The library, built in 1891, has rounded arches, a turret on the southeast corner and stone steps that were cut from a single stone to help the steps weather the harsh winter climate.
Orleans Hub profiled many great Medina sandstone structures last year, and we’ll feature more of these grand buildings made from the local stone.
This postcard from the early 1900s shows the James Prendergast Library before it had two additions and the trees grew big on the property. The property is lined with sandstone walls.
The Jamestown Library was built in a Richardsonian Romanesque style, the same style as the famed the Richardson Olmsted Complex in Buffalo. The site was an inaugural member of the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame in December. (Click here for more on the Hall of Fame.)
The Jamestown library bears the name of the city’s founder, although the library was actually built as a memorial to Prendergast’s grandson, James. His parents, Alexander and Mary Prendergast, pushed to build the library as memorial for their son, who died in 1879 at age 31.
The library includes some fine detail work from the stone masons of the era.
The library was completed at a cost of $60,000 and was furnished with an art gallery at a cost of $45,000. When it opened on Dec. 1, 1891, the library contained 8,666 volumes. Two additions were completed in 1968 and 1978.
The elder James Prendergast founded Jamestown in 1811. He built a log house and then a dam and then a mill. He lived until 1836.
His son and his wife Mary honored their son by building the library. They chose to honor their daughter Catherine with a memorial by building a new Episcopal church.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church is a dominant structure in Jamestown made from Medina sandstone.
The Prendergasts paid to build the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church from 1892-1894 at 410 North Main St. This church complex, which includes a sandstone chapel and office building, is one of the most impressive Medina sandstone structures I’ve seen. The church has a four-sided clock tower that looms high. The tower holds the city’s only chime bells.
The Prendergasts have put an enduring stamp on Jamestown. Their choice of Medina sandstone for a building material has given their gifts a lasting life.
The chapel at the Episcopal church in Jamestown has stood the test of time.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 May 2014 at 12:00 am
Clarendon is seeking state grant to help with restoration
File photos by Tom Rivers – The chapel at Hillside Cemetery was erected in 1894 from local Medina sandstone. The Clarendon Town Board and Historical Society is seeking $225,000 to help restore the building.
CLARENDON – It’s an iconic structure in the heart of Hillside Cemetery, but few people ever go inside the chapel that was constructed in 1894.
The structure will be open on Memorial Day from 9:30 a.m. to noon, and town officials and members of the Clarendon Historical Society hope the open house will kick off a fund-raising effort to restore the chapel, which needs masonry repairs, a new roof, and restoration to windows.
The town and historical society believe the building needs $225,000 in restoration work. The town, which owns the cemetery, is seeking a matching parks grant through the state. The Historical Society and town are trying to rally the local share to preserve the building.
Hillside Cemetery, located at the corner of Route 237 and South Holley Road, last year was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery with 3,500 graves is a distinctive example of a Victorian style cemetery on the west side of South Holley Road. That older section includes terraces and monuments that emphasize a sentimental Victorian attitude. Across the road on the east side the cemetery reflects the open lawn-park style.
The National Register listing should boost the town’s chances for securing funding for the chapel restoration. The Historical Society and town would like to use the building for community events in the future.
This photo was taken inside the chapel looking through one of the windows.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 13 April 2014 at 12:00 am
Heritage Hero: Bob Waters
File photo by Tom Rivers – Bob Waters, president of the Medina Sandstone Society, gives a rousing speech during the first Hall of Fame program on Dec. 12 at Medina City Hall. Six inaugural inductees were named to the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame that day.
(Editor’s Note: Genesee Community College is honoring its first class of five Heritage Heroes during the Civil War Encampment on April 25 in Medina. Orleans Hub will profile the honorees. Tom Rivers, the Orleans Hub editor, served on the committee that helped pick the winners.)
MEDINA – He made a living telling the stories of Medina and the Orleans County community. Bob Waters served as publisher of The Journal-Register in Medina.
Since leaving the business more than three decades ago, Waters has made telling – and preserving – the community’s heritage a priority.
He has written publications – he won’t call them books – about Medina’s sandstone past, the community’s boom years from 1900 to 1930, and a publication of penny post cards about Medina in 2012: “Greetings from Medina, New York.”
Waters loves the written word, but he has also provided leadership and some of the heavy lifting for community projects, perhaps most notably the reuse of the former Armory on Pearl Street.
Waters served on the Armory Action Committee that helped find a new purpose for the building after it was shut down by the state in 1977.
That 90,000-square-foot building was built in 1901. It was closed in 1977 by state officials. Waters and the Armory Action Committee met weekly and negotiated with the state to keep the utilities on, make needed repairs and eventually transfer the site to the community so it could be used as a YMCA. That organization now has more than a 1,000 members and it is investing about $400,000 in a capital improvement project.
“When the National Guard left, the property could have gone down hill in a hurry,” Waters said. “Now the Y is just running with it.”
The building is one of the most iconic structures in the county. It resembles a fortress. In December it was part of the inaugural class of the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame.
Waters is president of the group. He praised Sandstone Society members Jim Hancock, Dave Miller and John Slack for working to get the Hall of Fame established. The six inductees and other historical photos of quarrymen are displayed inside the meeting room at City Hall.
Photos courtesy of Dave Miller
Medina Savings and Loan celebrated its 125th anniversary in June. As part of the celebration, the Medina Sandstone Society unveiled a sandstone plaque by the bank’s front door. Pictured, from left: Medina S & L President Tim Moriarty, Sandstone Society President Bob Waters, and Charles Slack, chairman of the board for the bank.
The Sandstone Society has given many sandstone signs to recent projects or institutions that have invested in the community.
The Society has established a community foundation that helps fund community projects, which could be restoration of stained glass windows or putting old newspapers and photos in microfiche or digital files, among the many preservation efforts.
Waters also speaks with students about local history and also leads tours of historical buildings and sites in the Medina area.
He sees an interest in local history – from high schoolers and young adults. He thinks Facebook has helped fuel a love for local heritage.
File photo by Tom Rivers
Bob Waters signs a copy of the organization’s latest publication, “Medina, My Home Town – Fond Memories,” during the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce’s Home and Garden Show last April.
The Sandstone Society’s latest publication, “Medina, My Home Town – Fond Memories,” includes reminisces from writers about Medina. Many of the anecdotes came from the Memories of Medina Facebook page, which has nearly 3,500 members.
“There has been a resurgence of interest in hometown history,” Waters said.
And he thinks that has helped spark a new wave of entrepreneurs who are investing in the downtown and the community.
“It used to be young people couldn’t wait to get out of here,” he said. “I’ve always been a small-towner. Maybe the small town is coming back.”
File photo by Tom Rivers – Medina Sandstone Society President Bob Waters, left, is pictured with Hall of Fame Committee members David Miller, Jim Hancock and John Slack.
Press Release
Bob Waters, president of Medina Sandstone Society
MEDINA – Last month the sandstone fame of Orleans County got a regional publicity boost when the “Sandstone Hall of Fame” was unveiled at City Hall in Medina, and now the general public is invited to view a beefed-up and expanded exhibit.
A date has been set for a public open house on Saturday, Feb. 1. That is the same day of Medina’s popular Wine About Winter event.
The December inaugural of the Hall of Fame turned out to be a memorable occasion and one entire wall of the council chamber at the local city hall was dedicated to a large display of plaques awarded to six outstanding stone structures.
“We’ve started to comb the state and this part of the world for dominant buildings made of the famous Medina sandstone,” said James Hancock, committee chairman.
“The idea seems to have rung a bell and it has generated a lot of publicity.”
Hancock was joined by David Miller and John Slack last year in creating the new Hall of Fame, which exists as a program of the Medina Sandstone Society. They received 22 nominations for structures to be honored in the first round (class of 2013) and six were picked. The committee expects to see the idea grow with each passing year.
The City Hall chamber, which houses the Hall of Fame exhibit, will be open to receive the public from 1 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 1 . Visitors are invited to drop in at their leisure during that four-hour period, view the enhanced exhibit, and enjoy a cup of coffee if desired.
The expansion of the Hall of Fame wall is notable because the artwork tells more of Orleans quarrying history. The committee sorted through hundreds of historic photographs to pick some of the best pictures of sandstone quarries, plus a few scenes of the local connection to the Erie Canal. “We are now ready to receive the public,” said the three leaders.
The committee paid additional tribute to Takeform Architectural Graphics and its president, William Hungerford, for producing and presenting the impressive plaques which signify selections in the Hall of Fame.
“Just as a selected company provides the Hollywood ‘Oscars’ each year, now Takeform has honored us by producing our sandstone awards, and they are very special.”
In one lighter moment, the Sandstone Society got a suggestion. A board member said, “If the United States has the Emmy and Grammy awards now it has the Sandy awards for the best of sandstone.”
The Sandstone Society said it is “eager to share” the exhibit of the Hall of Fame with the local public.
Over the coming years the society expects growth in the program and more notice from out-of-town residents.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 December 2013 at 12:00 am
MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Society made history today in inducting the first class of honorees in the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame.
The debut class includes two sites in Buffalo, three in Orleans County and one in Rochester. The Hall of Fame is inside the Medina City Hall in the main meeting room.
Orleans Hub will have a bigger story a little later on the event, which was attended by the owners of the six inaugural members.
For now, here are the plaques for each member of the first class.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 12 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – Representatives from the first class of the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame pose for a photo on Thursday after the induction ceremony. The group includes, front row: Dina Zinone, property manager for Housing Management Resources which owns the former Saint Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester; Barbara Filipiak, a trustee with St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Medina; and Martha neri, historian at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Buffalo. Second row: Clint Brown, board member of the Richardson Center Corporation in Buffalo that owns the Richardson Olmsted Complex; Monica Pellegrino Faix, director of the Richardson Olmsted Complex; Lee Richards, pastor of the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion; Jeff Winters, director of the Orleans County YMCA at the former Medina Armory; and the Rev. Donald Huber, cathedral canon vicar at St. Paul’s in Buffalo.
MEDINA – They can be easy to overlook or to not fully appreciate because we have so many in Orleans County and in Western New York. But some of the great Medina sandstone structures are now getting their due.
The Medina Sandstone Society unveiled the first inductees in the new Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Thursday. The debut class includes three churches, a seminary turned into senior apartments, a massive former psychiatric center and an armory that is now home to the Orleans County YMCA.
The Sandstone Society wants to celebrate Orleans County’s role in providing the stone, skill and brawn for building some of the most iconic and treasured sites in the county, region, state and beyond.
The first class of Hall of Fame inductees includes three in Orleans, two in Buffalo and one in Rochester. A Hall of Fame Committee narrowed a list of 21 nominees to the six selections. The honorees are enshrined inside the main meeting room in Medina City Hall, a sandstone building that was built in 1908.
The committee – society members Jim Hancock, Dave Miller and John Slack – went hunting for great buildings made from Medina sandstone. They didn’t need to look to far to find great examples of architecture and craftsmanship. Orleans County Historian Bill Lattin noted that the many local and regional sites wow visitors, but often aren’t greeted with much fanfare locally.
“Don’t miss the extraordinary ordinary we have in Medina sandstone buildings here locally and spread throughout New York State,” Lattin said during the Hall of Fame induction.
Lattin was part of a contingent from the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion, one of the six inaugural members. That church was built in 1894 primarily with funds from George Pullman, an Albion native who made a fortune selling sleeping cars to the railroads.
He built the church as a memorial to his parents. He didn’t spare any expense in the building, which includes more than 40 Tiffany stained-glass windows, Miller noted.
“It is a flawless pink sandstone in the old English Gothic style,” Miller said.
Medina Y director Jeff Winters addresses the group after the Medina Armory was inducted in the Hall of Fame. He is joined in front by Scott Taylor, Y CEO for the GLOW region; and Dean Bellack, president of the Orleans County Y board of directors.
There are bigger sandstone churches in Albion than the Pullman site, but Miller said the Pullman church is an exceptional example of precision stone work. The long low profile of the church is also very unique, he said.
Lee Richards, the church pastor, said the congregation takes great pride in the architecture of the building and all of the stained glass. Church buildings like Pullman were designed “to uplift souls,” Richards said.
Other inductees include:
St. Mary’s Catholic Church, completed in 1904 in Medina, is an immense structure with two tall towers. The building was constructed during Medina’s glory days at the turn of the century. It has been lovingly cared for by the congregation for more than a century.
The congregation paid $75,000 to build the church that uses brown Medina sandstone. One of the towers reaches up 170 feet high. The original Vermont slate remains on the roof.
The Medina Armory opened in 1901, a few blocks from St. Mary’s. New York State paid $55,000 to build the structure that includes octagonal towers. It was closed by the state in 1977 but then the 90,000-square-foot site found new life as a YMCA.
Medina Y director Jeff Winters addresses the group after the Medina Armory was inducted in the Hall of Fame. He is joined in front by Scott Taylor, Y CEO for the GLOW region; and Dean Bellack, president of the Orleans County Y board of directors.
“We’ve tried to be good stewards of the building,” said Y director Jeff Winters.
The YMCA is currently working on a $400,000 upgrade of the site, improving accessibility and amenities.
In Rochester, the Hall of Fame Committee picked Saint Bernard’s Seminary, a collection of four buildings that were constructed between 1891 and 1908. The seminary has been converted into apartments for senior citizens.
The Medina sandstone was quarried from the Genesee River gorge. It is an unusual type of red sandstone with white inclusions. It has well-done decorative brick trim.
“It’s the most unique looking sandstone,” Miller said.
Perhaps the most prominent Medina sandstone building – the Richardson Olmsted Complex in Buffalo – is in the midst of a major transformation from a long dormant former psychiatric hospital into a boutique hotel, center for architecture and high-tech conference rooms.
The twin towers of the Richardson Olmsted Complex in Buffalo make the site one of the most iconic Medina sandstone structures ever built.
The twin copper-roofed towers of Medina sandstone rise 185 feet above Forest Avenue in Buffalo, making the complex a prominent landmark since 1872. The site was designed by famed architect H.H. Richardson, who also chose Medina sandstone for the steps in the state capitol in Albany as part of the Million-Dollar Staircase.
The complex took about 20 years to complete and includes a park designed by the country’s most respected landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. It was built to be an Eden to help patients recover from mental illness.
Clint Brown, a historic preservation architect, is a member of the board of director for the Richardson Olmsted Complex. He said the board would accept the honor in memory of the patients at the site, and “the quarrymen who mined the stone and the masons who dressed it.”
Brown and the site’s director Monica Pellegrino Faix would like to include a display about Medina sandstone and the quarrymen as part of the site’s center for architecture.
The oldest inductee in the Hall of Fame was built from 1849 to 1851. St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Buffalo used sandstone from a Hulberton quarry.
Medina Sandstone Society President Bob Waters, left, is pictured with Hall of Fame Committee members David Miller, Jim Hancock and John Slack.
The church was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Richard Upjohn, the leading church architect of the day. The U.S. government declared the church a National Historic Landmark in 1987, the only church in Western New York with such a designation.
A fire at the church in 1888 destroyed the interior of St. Paul’s. But the sandstone shell remained and the church rebuilt and reopened. That fire bolstered the reputation for Medina sandstone, Hall of Fame Committee member John Slack said.
The brown sandstone was used for the pulpit and columns in addition to the exterior structure. The Rev. Don Huber, the cathedral canon vicar, said the brown stone has a calming effect.
“The sandstone feels mothering,” he said. “It’s not cold and hard. The sandstone gives St. Paul’s warmth.”
The Hall of Fame Committee plans to induct new members every year. The committee is led by Jim Hancock.
“It was really hard to narrow it down to six,” he said. “There are so many beautiful and unique structures.”
Takeform Architectural Graphics in Medina created the plaques and display for the Hall of Fame. The company made a second set of plaques so each honoree could have one to display.
City Hall has been used as a visitor center during the summer. Hancock said the Hall of Fame should make the building a bigger destination.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Democrat & Chronicle today highlights the Medina Sandstone Society and its efforts to create a Hall of Fame. The newspaper includes a photo of the former Medina Armory, which is now the Orleans County YMCA.
MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Society will induct its first class of honorees in the Sandstone Hall of Fame on Thursday. Already, the venture is getting some publicity locally and beyond.
Today, the Democrat and Chronicle features the Hall of Fame initiative and includes a photo of the former Medina Armory and the Sandstone Society President Bob Waters.
“Medina sandstone had it all,” D & C columnist Jim Memmott writes today. “Impressively fireproof, famously durable, pleasing to the eye, it was a go-to building material in most of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th.”
Orleans Hub, the Medina Journal-Register and The Daily News of Batavia all have published several stories about the Hall of Fame.
The publicity for the community was one of the goals for the initiative. The Sandstone Society wants to annually highlight some of the great structures locally, in the region and elsewhere that used the Medina stone.
The society hopes newspapers from the communities with the honorees will publish articles when sites are inducted in the Hall of Fame.
Waters, in an interview with Jim Memmott, said there is strong interest in the community’s sandstone heritage.
“All of a sudden, Medina has got a flair for rediscovering its history,” Waters told Memmott. “And it’s not just me; it’s the young folks who are all gung-ho.”
Thursday’s Hall of Fame ceremony will be from 4 to 6 p.m. at City Hall. The event is invitation only.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 2 December 2013 at 12:00 am
Sandstone Society will announce inaugural class on Dec. 12
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion is one of 22 sites nominated for the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame. The society will announce which of the sites will be enshrined in the first class of the Hall of Fame on Dec. 12.
MEDINA – The Medina Sandstone Society will announce the inductees in the first class of the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame on Dec. 12.
The 4 to 6 p.m. ceremony at the Medina City Hall also will include an announcement on the Hall of Fame’s location.
The first class will include six inductees, and representatives from some of those sites are expected for the Hall of Fame announcement.
The Sandstone Society on Oct. 10 announced 22 nominees. The Hall of Fame Committee worked to narrow the list to six for the first class.
“This can be an important step for Orleans County in under scoring its great 19th Century heritage as the sandstone capital of the world in fine construction,” Bob Waters, president of the Sandstone Society, said about the Hall of Fame.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 15 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – The northeast corner of the bell tower at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church was hit with lightning last month, leaving a gap in the turret (the one with the white lines through it). The church is seeking estimates for a repair.
JAMESTOWN – One of the great churches of Western New York that was built with Medina sandstone was hit by lightning on Sept. 1.
The bolt of power took a chunk of sandstone out of a turret in the tower at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown. The church has taped off a section near the tower, warning pedestrians of danger from up high.
I encountered this church on Sunday while in Jamestown. It is an impressive structure. This is the first Medina sandstone church that I’ve seen with a four-faced clock tower up high. It’s Jamestown’s version of Big Ben.
But the lightning strike causing some electrical problems that stopped the clock at 5:50 p.m. The church bells also now malfunction.
The tower is part a magnificent church complex that was built from 1892 to 1894. The church dominates a city block at 410 North Main St.
Linda Dawson, a junior warden at the church, told me St. Luke’s is working with its insurance company to get estimates for the repairs.
The heat from the lightning may have weakened some of the sandstone, causing some of the sand veins to melt in a glass-like material “making the stone more brittle than before the lightning,” she said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 14 October 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – The tower at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church includes the only chime bells in the city of Jamestown.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church was built from 1892-1894 at 410 North Main St., Jamestown.
JAMESTOWN – In 1892, the daughter-in-law of the city’s founder, James Prendergast, wanted to build a memorial for her daughter, Catherine.
Mary Prendergast chose to construct a new church for the St. Luke’s Episcopal congregation in Jamestown. A sprawling and towering church edifice was constructed from 1892 to 1894. The site includes a tower with a clock on four faces, as well as the city’s only chime bells.
I saw this church for the first time on Sunday. I approached it in the morning darkness. The church had a light glow, a feeling of mystery. Even with its dark outlines in the morning, I knew this is one of the most impressive church buildings I’d seen in a small city.
The site at 410 North Main St. also includes a Medina sandstone chapel and an office building made of our local stone.
The Episcopal Church in Jamestown lavishly used Medina sandstone to build not only the church, but this chapel and an office building next door.
James Prendergast founded the city in the early 1800s. His family also built a public library for Jamestown and picked Medina sandstone for that building. (I’ll feature the library in an upcoming Sandstone Heritage article.)
Mary Prendergast was married to Alexander, the son of the city founder. Family members were long-time leaders of the Episcopal church.
A plaque inside the church recognizes the family for their gift of building the church.
“This is none other but the house of God and this is the gate of Heaven,” the inscription states.
It feels calm and reverential inside the church sanctuary.
The church includes numerous stained-glass windows that are all works of art.
The Episcopal Church first built at this site in 1856. But that wooden building burned six years later. The second building was removed in 1892 so the massive Medina sandstone complex could be built.
I grew up not far from Jamestown. In this corner of the world, Western New York winters are their fiercest. When we have 2 inches of snow in Orleans County, the Jamestown area is often hit with a foot of the white stuff. The wind blows hard over there and it feels a lot colder.
This church has stood strong throughout it all, but it is showing signs of wear. A chunk from up high had recently fallen from the tower and the church had a section below on the sidewalk area blocked off, with bright tape that said “Danger.”
A chunk of the tower has fallen at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
This church isn’t listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but it clearly should be. I also noticed active ministries at the site, including a coffee shop, and clothing exchange.
I’ve noticed that Episcopal congregations in Western New York were devoted customers for the Medina sandstone quarries. Besides this great church in Jamestown, I’ve found Episcopal churches made of Medina sandstone in Buffalo (St. Paul’s Cathedral may be the most awesome of them all), Rochester at Christ Church, and churches in Olean, Medina, Holley and Brockport.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 11 October 2013 at 12:00 am
List includes 9 sites in Orleans County, a staircase in Albany, and other upstate buildings
Photos by Tom Rivers – David Miller, a Medina Sandstone Society member, discusses one of the nominees for the new Hall of Fame: the Belhurst Castle in Geneva.
MEDINA – A list of nominees for a new Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame includes prominent sites in Orleans County and upstate New York, well-known landmarks that have endured harsh winters and, in some cases, neglect.
The buildings made of Medina sandstone have proved formidable, and many are striking architectural marvels, created by the master stone cutters from more than a century ago.
The Medina Sandstone Society is working to create a Hall of Fame that showcases some of the great buildings and structures made from the local stone. The list of 21 nominees was presented on Thursday, and that list will be pared down to five to seven inaugural members of the Hall of Fame. The first class will be announced in December.
“We want to keep Medina sandstone alive,” Jim Hancock, a member of the Hall of Fame committee, told about 75 people on Thursday during a nominee unveiling at the Medina Theatre, a sandstone building on Main Street. “There is Medina sandstone all over the state, the country and even the world.”
Jim Hancock, a member of the Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame committee, discusses the Million-Dollar Staircase in Albany, which was partially built with Medina sandstone. It’s one of 21 nominees for the new Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame Committee – Hancock, David Miller and John Slack – visited many of the nominees, taking photographs and learning about the history of the sites. They shared their findings during the nominee unveiling on Thursday.
The nominees include nine from Orleans County including St. John’s Episcopal Church in Medina (1832 – 1836), the Old Stone Store in Clarendon from 1836, the Civil War Memorial at Mount Albion Cemetery in 1876, the chapel at Hillside Cemetery in Holley from 1894, the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church in Albion from 1894, the Medina Armory (now Orleans County YMCA) in Medina from 1901, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Medina from 1902-1904, the railway station in Medina from 1908, and City Hall in Medina from 1908.
Other nominees in the Buffalo area include St. Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo from 1849 to 1851, the H.H. Richardson Complex in Buffalo from 1870, the St. Louis Roman Catholic Church in Buffalo from 1889, the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Olean, the Connecticut Street Armory in Buffalo from 1899, and the Genesee County jail in Batavia from 1903.
In the Rochester area, Sandstone Society members nominated the Charlotte Lighthouse in Rochester which was built in 1822, the Bellhurst Castle in Geneva from 1888, St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester from 1891 to 1893, the Civil War monument in Brockport from 1894, and a series of 30 structures at Hamlin Beach State Park from 1938.
Photo by Chris Busch
The St. Louis Roman Catholic Church in Buffalo, built in 1889, includes a 245-foot-high steeple that is topped by a 72-foot-high pierced spire, the tallest open-work spire ever built completely of stone without reinforcement.
The Million-Dollar Staircase in Albany, which used Medina sandstone for the steps, also made the list.
Nearly all of the nominees are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and some have been declared National Historic Landmarks.
Hancock and Miller both said they have gained more appreciation for Medina sandstone and its role as a superior building block in some of the finest structures in the region and state.
They will submit a list of inductees to the Medina Sandstone Society board to vote on during the group’s November meeting. A public announcement will be made in December. At that point, Hancock said a location for the Hall of Fame should be determined.
Orleans Hub congratulates the Sandstone Society for working on this project. The Hall of Fame should draw visitors to our community, help us to form new connections with owners of Medina sandstone buildings outside the county, and promote community pride.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 September 2013 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers – The Medina Sandstone Society has been scouring New York looking at structures made of Medina sandstone. This picture shows the First Presbyterian Church in Albion.
MEDINA – They have been crisscrossing the region – and beyond – taking tours of prominent buildings made of Medina sandstone.
Jim Hancock, Dave Miller and John Slack are members of the Medina Sandstone Society. They also have been tasked by the group to work on developing a Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame.
Community members have suggested buildings for the inaugural list, and the trio of sandstone enthusiasts has gone exploring to see the sites.
Hancock said the trips have been fun, and validated his belief that Medina sandstone sites are exceptional, withstanding years of harsh upstate New York winters and scorching summers.
“It is absolutely astounding when you discover the thousands of great buildings of Medina sandstone that still exist in excellent condition,” Miller said.
The Hall of Fame Committee will present the list of nominees on Oct. 10 during a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. at Medina Theatre, a sandstone building on Main Street.
That list will likely be pared down to five to seven sites in the first HOF class. The inaugural class will be voted on by the Sandstone Society board of directors.
Hancock and Miller said the first class will likely be announced in November. Photos and descriptions of the sites will go in a temporary home for the Hall of Fame. That site has not been disclosed.
A permanent home also hasn’t been picked, but Hancock favors the mostly vacant Bent’s Opera House on Main Street. The Orleans Renaissance Group is working to restore the site.
The Sandstone Society on Oct. 10 will announce the list of HOF nominees on the Medina Theatre’s large screen. The Oct. 10 event will also serve as a “thank you” to patrons who have supported Sandstone Society projects in 2013.
Hancock expects the Hall of Fame will become an annual tradition, with a new class inducted every year. He said there are numerous sites that are worthy of induction.
“It’s going to be tough to narrow them down,” Hancock said about the first class of inductees. “If they don’t make it into the Hall this year, there’s always next year.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 August 2013 at 12:06 pm
Richardson Olmsted Complex will be renovated to become hotel and architecture center
Photos by Tom Rivers – The twin copper-roofed towers of Medina sandstone rise high above Forest Avenue in Buffalo. The Richardson Olmsted Complex has been a massive Buffalo landmark since 1872.
BUFFALO – It’s one of the greatest buildings ever made of Medina sandstone, the 480,000-square-foot former Buffalo Psychiatric Center. The building was abandoned decades ago and left to die.
But a corps of Buffalo boosters have refused to see the renamed Richardson Olmsted Complex fall apart. The group swayed former Gov. George Pataki and the State Legislature to commit $75.5 million in state funds in protecting and reviving the structure.
Private investors have also stepped in and the site is being reborn as a hotel and a center for architecture.
The ambitious project is often in the news. (Today it is the main story on the front page of The Buffalo News, trumping stories about President Obama’s visit to Buffalo on Thursday.)
The Richardson Olmsted Complex, the former Buffalo Psychiatric Center, is being renovated into a hotel and architecture center. The complex is made of Medina sandstone and was designed by Henry H. Richardson, the first American architect to attain international acclaim.
I toured the Richardson Complex in February with members of the Medina Sandstone Society. The group wants Medina sandstone to be part of the architectural center in Buffalo. Medina sandstone should be part of an exhibit at Richardson, noting the local stone’s role as the building material for some of the greatest buildings in the region.
The Richardson project provides a lot of free publicity for Medina sandstone. I want our local elected officials to capitalize on this and work to establish a Medina Sandstone Trail along Route 31 in the county and assist the Medina Sandstone Society in creating and developing a Medina Sandstone Hall of Fame. The group is working on its first class of nominees. It hasn’t settled on a home for the Hall of Fame.
The renovated Richardson complex is scheduled to open in 2016. That gives us a little time to try to piggyback on that project around here. The restoration of the Richardson will likely be in the news for years to come. It provides a great showcase for Medina sandstone.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 6 August 2013 at 12:00 am
Photos by Tom Rivers – The Christ Church Parish used sandstone from Albion to build a massive church in stages on East Avenue.
The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
ROCHESTER – I’ve been hunting down some of the great Medina sandstone structures in Western New York, and I’ve noticed the Episcopal Church consistently embraced our local stone for monumental places of worship.
The Episcopalians were early adopters of Medina sandstone. The Episcopal church in Medina was among the first to utilize the stone, building a church on East Center Street in the early 1830s.
St. Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo may be the finest church building made of Medina sandstone. (You can read an Orleans Hub article about that church by clicking here.) The enormous church was built from 1849-1851, using stone harvested from a quarry in Hulberton. I hoped Rochester would have a big Episcopal church made of sandstone. The community didn’t disappoint.
Christ Church, an Episcopal congregation at 141 East Ave., was built in stages over several decades from 1855 to 1903. I recently drove by the church on the way to the Strong Museum of Play, which is couple blocks away.
Christ Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 under the category of architecture/engineering. The church was built in a Gothic Revival style using “rock-faced red Albion sandstone,” according to a description on the National Register. The church has buttresses and flying buttresses.
The first church building was erected in 1855. The Episcopalians outgrew the space and added a building in 1887, with another to follow in 1894. The Johnson Tower, the tallest building, was erected in 1903.
I just showed up unannounced, and was given a tour of the church. It includes many Tiffany stained-glass windows, a 79-foot-high ceiling with an 80-foot-width, making for exceptional acoustics. Eastman School of Music students and professors often use Christ Church for concerts.
The church is committed to being a vibrant parish in service to the community.
“On any given day of the week you may find us carrying hot food from our kitchen to hungry neighbors, or absorbed in the beauty of music and liturgy,” the church states on its web site. “You may find us hosting world class musicians through our partnership with the Eastman School of Music, or pulling stones from our garden beds.
“Whether you are a sojourner passing by or looking for a parish family, it is my sincere hope you will stop by. We would love to host you.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 July 2013 at 12:00 am
Silver Creek parish built church, school with sandstone
Photos by Tom Rivers
In the tiny village of Silver Creek, the Chautauqua County community built a striking Catholic school made of brick and Medina sandstone in the 1950s. It appears to have been done in two stages, with the project wrapping up in 1960.
The Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish also built a Catholic church of sandstone about a half century earlier in 1908. The school and church make for a powerful one-two sandstone combo in this village by Lake Erie.
I’ve driven by the school a few times on the way to see my mother and father. Last night, I stopped with my camera.
The property at 165 Central Ave. was inundated with water during a flood in August 2009. The water caused $1 million in damage to the church, rectory and school.
The parish worked for 16 months to restore the site, replacing warped flooring, walls and boilers, and making numerous other repairs.
Father Daniel Fiebelkorn has only been pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for about year when the great flood hit Silver Creek.
“I was helping out that weekend,” he told Western New York Catholic, a Diocesan newspaper on Nov. 8, 2010. “Before the flood, I was complimenting the people on how beautiful the church was, and afterwards as we experienced the devastation, it was overwhelming. But the people themselves just set about getting to work. From day one, they were here cleaning and doing what they could to save it. There was a strong desire to do as much as they could to rebuild.”
I tip my hat to this parish for building wonderful structures, choosing a hearty stone that can withstand the elements. And I salute the parish for working to restore the sites when disaster struck with the flood.
