New York State - The Preservationist
Fall 2015
Resurrected!
Historic religious properties play an important role in our communities. In addition to their religious function, they help to define our history, are an important source of our artistic patrimony and provide vital space for many social services. However, cultural and lifestyle changes are resulting in the abandonment of older religious properties that were once central to community life. For those religious properties that remain open, pressures continue to be placed on strained budgets to address maintenance and upkeep of older buildings. For those properties that must be closed, viable opportunities exist to reuse historic religious properties in ways that strengthen neighborhood ties and promote community revitalization. The following examples highlight how underused religious properties have been successfully adapted for contemporary use, helping to infuse new life and vitality into existing neighborhoods.
New York State - The Preservationist
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Oakwood Community Center
The Oakwood Community Center in Troy is housed in the former Oakwood Avenue Presbyterian Church, which was built in 1868 and closed in 2010. The center grew out of a partnership with the Albany Presbytery, the property owner, and has become an important resource in the surrounding community. The center serves as a worship space for three congregations, gathering place for community groups, and offers programs geared to the needs of local residents, including a food pantry and neighborhood café.

 

Lafayette Lofts
Built in 1896, the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church remains a strong community anchor in Buffalo's Elmwood Village neighborhood. While the church thrived during the twentieth century, more recently the congregation struggled to maintain the large structure due to declining membership. Through a creative partnership between the church and a private development company, the complex's chapel and memorial hall have been rehabilitated, with the help of  preservation tax credits, for apartment use. The church's sanctuary remains a house of worship as well as a venue for special events, and its lower level has been updated to house community and social services as well as special events.
Universal Preservation Hall
Through a community-based collaboration, the Universal Preservation Hall project in Saratoga Springs has transformed a neglected church into a center for art and culture. Built in 1871 as a Methodist Episcopal Church, the property was later sold to the Universal Baptist Temple, but its poor condition eventually made it unsafe . In 1999, concerned citizens and church members joined together to rescue and revitalize the local landmark. They formed a nonprofit partnership to preserve and convert the building into a venue for performing arts and special events (see also top photo), while setting aside a small worship space for the Baptist congregation.
Babeville Buffalo
Built in the 1870s, the Delaware Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church in Buffalo served as a house of worship and community gathering place for many years. Gradually, due to dwindling membership and finances, the church declined. By the 1990s, the building was vacant and threatened with demolition. Thanks to the commitment and creativity of its current owner, Righteous Babe Records, the local landmark was saved.The building has been rehabilitated, with the help of preservation tax credits, and transformed into the record company's headquarters, with a variety of performance, office and exhibition spaces.
Museum at Eldridge Street
When it opened in 1887, Eldridge Street Synagogue was the first great house of worship built on Manhattan's Lower East Side by Eastern European Jews. It was not only a house of worship but also an active community center. However, by the mid-twentieth century, the building was underused and deteriorated due to a declining congregation. Subsequently, the nonprofit Eldridge Street Project was established to rescue the property and, with private support and state preservation grant assistance, has led the building's restoration. Today, the landmark structure houses the Museum at Eldridge Street, which offers tours and special programs, as well as Kahal Adath Jeshurun, the Orthodox congregation that has worshipped here since the synagogue first opened.

Holy Rosary Apartments
The former Holy Rosary Church and School in Rochester has been transformed into an affordable housing complex. The religious property grew in stages during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries and includes the church, rectory, convent and a modern school. The vacant property's recent rehabilitation utilized public and private funding as well as preservation tax credits. The rectory, convent and school now house apartments, and the former church sanctuary serves as a community center. The revitalized complex demonstrates that vacant religious properties can be reinvigorated for contemporary use.
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