St. John's Episcopal Church in Pleasantville Receives Sacred Sites Grant

From the New York Landmarks Conservancy

The New York Landmarks Conservancy has announced 25 Sacred Sites Grants totaling over $300,000 awarded to historic religious properties throughout New York State, including a $1,500 grant to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Pleasantville for consulting fees.

“Religious institutions reflect the history and immigration patterns of communities,” said Peg Breen, President of The New York Landmarks Conservancy. “Many provide vital services that reach beyond their congregations. We all have an interest in preserving them.”

St. John’s Church was established in 1853 as a mission church of Grace Church in White Plains. It wasn’t until 1885 that the congregation built its first church on Bedford Road, a building that now serves as the Pleasantville Community Synagogue. Between 1912 and 1914, the second church, designed by local architect Charles A. Hoag, was completed. This Gothic Revival church is constructed from rough-hewn granite blocks. The low, massive crenelated tower, with stepped buttresses, stone trim, and small louvered openings in the upper stage forms the dominant feature of this corner site. Two steeply pitched gable ends project perpendicularly from each other on either side of this tower. One contains a large, pointed-arch stained-glass window, and the second contains the sanctuary entrance. In 1929, the parish house, designed by New York City architect Oscar Vatet, was added. Constructed in a similar Gothic-Revival vocabulary to the church, it is connected to the sanctuary by a one-story covered walkway. The building was further expanded in 1972 with the addition of classroom and office wings.

The church has a conditions report from Manhattan-based masonry consulting firm Building Integrity Associates with additional input from Westchester-based roofing consultant Russel Watsky. Both BIA and Mr. Watsky work with many churches in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The report will form the basis for what is anticipated to be a $230,000 masonry and slate-roof restoration and repair project. Masonry and roof consulting services will include the preparation of measured drawings, and a scope of work that will detail the masonry and roofing areas requiring restoration. The consultants will also prepare bid documents and assist the Vestry in bid evaluation and accepting a contractor proposal.

The parish house is the center of the congregation’s community outreach and houses a theater group, musicians, youth and 12-step programs. The hall is the staging area for a homeless outreach effort, known as the Midnight Run. The grounds have a community garden sponsored by the church, conceived by a local teenager, with over 100 volunteers participating. Over 400 pounds of produce from the garden has been donated to a local food bank.

The Conservancy’s Sacred Sites Program has helped over 730 religious institutions across New York State with over $8.7 million in grants triggering over $575 million in restoration and construction projects. It is one of the few programs in the country to offer financial assistance to restore and preserve landmark religious institutions.