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.

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.

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 19^th 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.

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.

For more on the church building, click here.

The church is located in the heart of Jamestown at 410 North Main St.

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.

I’m looking for more.

One last view of St. Luke’s in Jamestown.

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.

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.”

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.”