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In 1889
the Tower adjacent to Christ Episcopal Church was
erected, a gift from Mr. Albert Tower. An item of much
curiosity surrounds the question “where is the church
bell”? There has never been a bell in the Tower. There
is an undocumented narrative in the parish that recounts
of a bell actually being cast for
Christ Church,
in
England. As the story
goes, when it was time to make the final payment, the
parish did not have the necessary funds, and the bell is
supposed to now reside in an English parish – although
inscribed as having been cast for Christ Episcopal
Church,
Poughkeepsie,
New York. The published history
of Christ
Church (1755-1910) makes no
reference to this bell tale. But it does make for a
colorful story!
One-hundred and nine years after the completion of the
Tower, an ‘Existing Conditions Survey’ of the Christ
Episcopal Church property reported that the Tower was in
need of substantial repair. Thus began an extensive
period of analysis, planning, and fund raising that has
resulted in the current Tower Renovation Project.
Funds
for the project have come from several different
streams:
Capital
Campaign gifts from members and friends of the parish
A Grant from the State of New York Environmental
Protection Fund
A Grant from the Jane W. Nuhn Charitable Trust
A Grant from the Jane Schlobach Trust
A Grant from the McCann Foundation
Two grants from the
New York
Landmarks Conservancy
A Grant from the Episcopal Diocese of
New York
A short-term construction
financing loan from the Diocese
A longer-term loan from the Diocese
Lichten-Craig
Architects from
Manhattan
have been involved in the project since the original
Existing Conditions Survey, and continues to oversee the
restoration project.
Monaco
Restorations, Inc. was awarded the competitively bid
project to undertake the actual restoration work.
The project has been
divided into five phases:
-
The entire Spire
of the Tower – on all four sides – from the large
louvered windows & upward to the cross.
-
Each of the North,
South, East, and West facades of the Tower, from the
large louvered windows downward.
The current project
includes the work on the Spire and the North façade.
The project represents
a thorough restoration effort:
-
The stones have
been examined and catalogued on an individual
basis. Some will be completely replaced, with
others being repaired.
-
The Tower is
constructed of stones that very likely came from the
Longmeadow quarry in
Massachusetts. The stone
currently being produced by that quarry no longer
match the color of the stones that in place on the
Tower. A type of sandstone known as Beestone has
been selected for use in the Restoration project,
which is derived from a quarry in the
United Kingdom.
-
The root system of
the infamous ‘Christ Tower Trees’ have been
thoroughly dealt with, under the advice of a
professional arborist.
-
All of the mortar
that was failed over time will be removed and new
mortar installed.
-
The cross on the
top of the Spire will be re-set using presently
available technology and metal pins.
-
The restored Tower
will have sufficient and properly grounded
lightening rods.
The scaffolding for
the Restoration was erected in February 2008. The First
Phase of the work is expected to be completed in the
third quarter of the year.
Click here for a PDF photographic record of work
accomplished in February & March 2008
Click here for a PDF photographic record of work
accomplished in April & May 2008
Click here for a PDF photographic record of Work
accomplished in June 2008 |
