by Samuel D. Gruber
This evening the City of Syracuse Planning Commission will hear an appeal by St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church on behalf of the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse to allow the removal of 22 century old stained glass windows from Holy Trinity Church, which was closed by the Diocese and merged with St. John in 2010. The intent is to sell the windows to a parish in Louisiana where they will be installed in a new church and that in some unspecified way that parish will then assist in the preservation of the Syracuse church building. These mostly address some errors in the Diocese application about the history and significance of the windows, and then mostly about the windows themselves. This is just a little bit about their significance; a book could be written about them. I only touch on the question of what actions have or have not been taken to save the church and the windows. Though I do have much to say on this topic, others at the hearing will no doubt address these issues.
I urge my readers to attend the hearing at city hall tonight (weather permitting) at 6:00 p.m., and or to write their thoughts to the Commission ASAP at zoning@ci.syracuse.ny.us. Put "Holy Trinity Church: CA 12-01 A (appeal)" in the subject line. The windows are number 5 on a very full agenda.
October 29, 2012
City Planning Commission Members:
Thank you for considering the following remarks.
I want to make it clear that I am sympathetic to the
concerns and needs of the Catholic Diocese to protect and preserve Holy Trinity
Church and its splendid windows – especially now in 2012 – during the
building’s centennial year. The Diocese
application is wrong in its dating of the building to 1891. Any cursory examination of historic
literature makes clear that it was built between 1905 and 1912 and that the
architect was Charles W. Eldridge (1882-1947).
I have previously presented fuller material on the history of the church
to the Landmarks Preservation Board and I will not repeat that here, since the
Commission already recognizes its historic value. However, I will note that the dedicatory
sermon was given at the church on February 19, 1912, though in such
circumstances it was usual for some construction work to continue – in this
case into the warmer months.
It pains me, therefore, that at a time when other
communities and congregations would use a building’s centennial as cause of
celebration, planning and fund-raising, the Diocese is instead intent on its
dismantling. Believe me – as I have 20
years of international experience working with congregations, and locally I was
co-chair of the Building Centennial Committee at Temple Concord, dedicated in
1911. I am also on the Committee to save the former AME Zion church at 711
East Fayette Street, also built during these same exact years.
I also want to make
it absolutely clear that these windows, despite what is implied by the Diocese
in its appeal, were indeed undoubtedly executed specifically for this
church by the noted Buffalo-based Otto Andrle and his studio, and are among the
finest in situ artworks in the City
of Syracuse and among the finest stained glass window series in Central New
York. Andrle clearly signed the
windows in several places, including the on the first window to the left of the
church entrance. Despite what the Diocese
claims in its appeal, these windows are American-designed and American-made. They are certainly German in style, but are
NOT imported from Germany.
The building itself was certainly intended to receive
stained glass windows of these shapes, size and style, and most likely the
artist and architect would have conferred on the general design. It was also the custom of the time, and
specifically of Andrle, to consult with the windows donors prior to making
designs. While this is not documented
(yet) at Holy Trinity the process is well-known from other Andrle work,
especially the great Saint Louis Roman Catholic Church in Buffalo, begun in
1886, but not fully complete until 1914, where Leo Frohe and Otto Andrle
designed the aisle windows. In this
important Commission, as documented by Dr. C. Eugene Miller, in his book Gothic Grandeur: A Rare Tradition in American Catholicism, “Andrle
proposed the idea of complimentary symmetry in the choice of design so as to
blend in with the gothic nature of the church. The donors suggested the topics
for each window so as to fulfill their reasons for a choice and to satisfy
Andrle's artistic imagination corresponding to his basic plan.”
Even a casual examination of the great Parable windows in
the nave at Holy Trinity Church suggests that the same process was employed in
Syracuse. The desire to create large
nave windows as separate but united and inter-related compositions was a
relatively new and artistically mature development in American stained glass design,
where previously and still for-the-most-part windows were purchased
singly. Andrle’s narrative, iconographic and formal
innovation was probably inspired but the increasing understanding through the
late 19th century and early 20th century study of art history,
of the working collective designs of great Italian wall decorations. For while the style of the windows is
inspired by 19th-century German art, that art itself was influenced
by the study – of figures and movement – of 15th and 16th
century Italian art. These are not just church windows;
these are important examples of innovative – but popular American art of the
early 20th century.
The choice of the nave window theme is significant,
too. The representation of the Parables
of Christ as the main decoration in a nave is unusual. In this case I think we can see it as a
direct reflection on the needs, desires and behaviors of the Syracuse German
Catholic community. The representation
of the Parables teaches and inspires ethical, socially responsible and
community building behaviors through the church; all values important to
immigrant ethnic populations and especially promoted by religious and political
reformers at the turn of the 20th century. Not surprisingly, the donors of most of these
windows were German Catholic altruistic fraternal and other societies and
orders. The more overt and traditional
devotional imagery is placed closer to the sanctified altar and apse. In a broad sense then the windows reflect the
division between observant laity and clergy. No window makes this clearer than
the very original representation of the Tabernacle and the Temple linked here
to the church.
In some sense the quality of these windows provides a
corrective to the somewhat skewed art historical emphasis on French-inspired
American art of the time, and the search for incidents of incipient modernism. After all, the famous Armory Show that really
introduced European abstract and other forms of modern art to America took
place in 1913, probably just about the time these windows were being installed,
marking them for the next generation of taste-makers, like so many of the great
works of what we now call the American Renaissance period, as already
old-fashioned not only in their religious subject, but also in artistic
style. But today we can appreciate their
beauty, and their virtuosity.
Sending these windows out of state, would certainly preserve
them in part, but would be a great
cultural lose and opportunity to Syracuse – at a time when we as a community
are trying hard to expand our cultural footprint. Removing the windows would almost certainly jeopardize
the building aesthetically. Holy Trinity
is designed as a German hall-style church.
That means that all the aisles are the same height, so the aisle windows
are actually the nave windows. Because
the windows are huge, the use of stained glass lessens and softens bright light. And architecturally, these windows do more
than that. The artist and architect
chose Gothic detailing to frame the Renaissance-style narrative scenes – and
thus expand the architectural space. The
painted glass framing in the windows is meant to be seen as part of the
architecture.
Removal of the windows may also threaten the physical
survival of the church. Their removal
may make it difficult for a future owner to successfully obtain historic
preservation tax credits, or obtain private foundation or other grants.
Others will, I am sure, address the question of whether the
diocese has done all that it can to manage the preservation of this historic
building and its fine windows. I
suspect not – since to my knowledge leading experts and organizations with
experience in transitioning religious buildings were not, to my knowledge,
consulted. While the building may have
been listed for sale, it is well-established that selling an historic and
artistic church is not the same as selling a house or commercial space. Listing is not enough. In a sense, one has to be creative, even to
the point on inventing a purpose, rather than expecting a pre-existing purpose
or user to find the building. These
strategies exist, but they are admittedly hard work, time consuming and often
slow. I urge the Planning Commission to
deny the appeal of the Diocese to allow removal of the church windows. But I also urge the Commission take the word
“planning” in its title seriously, and
with city agencies – including those that tax – to take a more proactive and
creative approach to the survival of this important religious, cultural,
artistic and community resource.
Thank you.
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