USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > New Haven, a book recording the varied activities of the author in his efforts over many years to promote the welfare of the city of his adoption since 1883, together with some researches into its storied past and many illustrations > Part 18
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Ithiel Town, who designed Center Church, came to New Haven to practice his profession in 1810, and died here in 1844. He was the first professional architect to live in New Haven, unless we except Peter Harrison, who may possibly have designed the "New Brick State House" of 1763 and who died here in 1775. Town built the State House on the Green of our time in 1829-31, the Salisbury house on Church Street, the Merchants' Exchange and the old Astor House in New York, Christ Church and the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, and other important buildings through- out the country. In designing Center Church he followed the design of St. Martins-in-the-Fields in London, built in 1726 by James Gibbs. Center Church shows a number of varia- tions from the design of St. Martins-in-the-Fields, which is built entirely of stone, whereas Center Church, a structure of brick and wood, required quite a different treatment. Few people in the community realize the excellence of Town's design for Center Church. That is not surprising, as many of its best qualities were lost when in 1845 the brickwork and the woodwork of the church were painted, as already stated. At this time also the interior of the church was extensively remodeled.
That the church should have been defaced and degraded by having its woodwork and brickwork enveloped in colored paint only thirty years after it was built, shows how rapidly Ameri- can taste declined in this country after the forepart of the last century. Center Church and the North Church were indeed among the last buildings of supreme interest to be built in this
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country under the stimulus acquired during the Colonial period.
For some years Center Church has been in charge of Mr. L. W. Robinson, the architect, who has now completed a survey of the entire fabric. That is to say he made a complete . set of measured drawings from which the church could be restored in exactly its present form in case it should be destroyed. This survey has not only that value, but must be of great value to all future students of classical architecture in America.
When the church at Old Lyme was burned a few years ago, and it was decided to build another one like it, nothing but photographs of the old church could be found. From these, of course, it was impossible to ascertain the exact proportions of the original structure; hence the importance of a survey. Many years ago the spire of the Farmington Church (according to Professor Hamlin of Columbia College, the most beautiful rural spire in New England) was carefully surveyed at the charges of the late Miss Sarah Porter, foundress of the Farmington School for Girls.
Preparatory to beginning his studies for the Ives Memorial Free Public Library, now building, Mr. Gilbert sent his drafts- men to New Haven and had a careful survey made of por- tions of the United Church. This survey, I venture to suggest, should be completed by the authorities of the church. The expense is inconsiderable. Until such a survey has been made everyone interested in that fabric must shudder at the thought of fire, since any damaging of the fabric by fire would be irreparable in the absence of a complete set of measured drawings of the church. Not to have them is, I think, a grave mistake. If anyone thinks this language is too strong, let him consult the people of Old Lyme, or any of the artists who have made Old Lyme their home for many summers. The Old Lyme Church was the chief ornament of the place, and in the absence of any drawings cannot be replaced. It may, of course, be replaced by a new building, but no photographs can supply those accurate dimensions which gave the old fabric its distinction and the full measure of its beauty and charm.
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When Mr. Robinson made his survey of Center Church, many unsuspected architectural refinements were discovered, such as the lengthening of the columns in the tower to provide for the foreshortening produced by looking at them from below, and the inclination of the panels in the tower a few inches from the perpendicular so as to impart the desired tapering effect or "spring." Moreover, the tower instead of being framed as one structure, is very ingeniously framed in three self-contained structures telescoped one within the other, the object being to better adapt the tower to withstand wind- pressures. These and other unsuspected architectural refine- ments and provisions have been discovered by Mr. Robinson, who says that the tower in particular contains many beautiful detais which are only to be found by close examination and study. That he has done a work of real value and importance, no one can doubt, and I hope that some future time he may embody the results of his studies of the fabric in an article of which all architects may have the benefit.
With this too long introduction, I may now introduce Mr. Gilbert's letter, which I will quote only in part :
"New Haven is peculiarly fortunate in having two such fine churches as the Center Church and the North Church, and I know of no instance in this country where two such church buildings can be found in the same group. They were evidently designed to be harmonious in architectural form and supplement each other, although each is distinctive in its own particular development of the style. In my study of New Haven I have found myself again and again considering the proportions of these churches and I may say here that they have had a most distinct influence upon my design for the Public Library. In fact, had it not been for the existence of these two buildings, the library design would have been upon distinctly different lines, but so strongly was I impressed with the importance of making a group of buildings that should have architectural unity, I could not escape from the conclu- sion that the library must continue the harmony which had been established in the design of the churches.
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"The beauty of the Center Church, however, has been much impaired at some time in the past by painting the woodwork a dark color and by the disfigurement of its brickwork by painting. The Colonial architecture from which this design is derived is of such refinement and so nearly akin to the classic that it requires that its detail should be expressed in a white material. This was so strongly felt by the architects of the period that I know not a single example wherein they varied. In all architecture derived from the classic, the moulding's are of extreme delicacy and refinement. The columns are given a slight taper, or entasis, and each detail is wrought out with intimate reference to each other detail; hence the effect must not be marred by dark or gloomy colors, which prevent the full reaction of light and shade. Designs of this character are so nicely proportioned that an ordinary onlooker neither understands nor appreciates by what delicate adjustments of proportion effects of beauty are secured. Reflected light and reflected shadow have a far greater value when the material is white than when it is of any other color. The nice gradations of light and shade, bringing out the rounded surface of the columns and emphasizing the details of the entablature, give a charm which is entirely lost in a duller, darker, color. In other words, in classical architecture a white or light color becomes an essential part of the design.
"Now, to restore Center Church to its original design every portion of the woodwork must be painted white. When the building was designed by Mr. Ithiel Town, I have no doubt he saw it in his mind as a red brick building trimmed with white and with a white tower.
"As to the brickwork, the Colonial architects understood and appreciated the value of red brick as a decorative material. They frankly used the material in broad simple masses, relying entirely upon the good proportions of their designs and upon the rich texture which rough brick always gives. By red brick I do not mean the plain, hard, smooth surfaced, pressed brick of later times, but the sturdy, full textured, common brick made by hand in the old-fashioned way. Close study
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of Colonial buildings has shown that it is impossible to pro- duce the same naïve beauty in painted brickwork or smooth surfaces. that was so easily obtained by the Colonial architects.
"The plain walls had character and charm which no amount of superficial ornament could possibly have given them. Independence Hall in Philadelphia may be cited as one of the fine examples of a period a little earlier than the Center Church and preserved to this day in practically its original condition, the brickwork unpainted and the woodwork painted white. The old State House in Boston for a time yielded to the fash- ion of the middle of the last century and received many coats of paint, much to its defacement, but within the last year the brickwork has been entirely cleaned of paint and the result is so charming that it has been welcomed with enthusiasm by all connoisseurs. As the old Boston State House stands to-day, it represents the taste and architectural skill of the period in which it was built.
"Aside from all these technical considerations, however, is the fact that architecturally the Center Church would appear far more important, in white and red and hence more impos- ing. It would have greater distinction, and would be in finer harmony with its setting than it is at present. I have examined the brick work of the Center Church and I regard it as a fine example both in the material and the method in which it is laid. The paint can be completely removed by a chemical process without injuring the brickwork, which will then reappear in all its original beauty of color and tone. It would seem most desirable that it should be done at this time. As it would never need repainting the ultimate economy is obvious.
"When you first began to write about the improvement of New Haven I was struck with your comments on the sub- ject and remember your suggestion that the brickwork of both the Center Church and the North Church should be cleaned of paint and restored to their original condition. I earnestly hope that your suggestions in this respect will prevail."
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After the receipt of Mr. Gilbert's letter, I opened a cor- respondence with Mr. Joseph Everett Chandler of Boston, the architect having charge of the restoration of the old State House. That building, one of the most historic in Boston, has had its brickwork obscured by paint for many years. The paint has now been successfully removed and the work of restoring the building to something like its original form is going forward with the approval of all citizens who are at all interested in preserving the memorials of old Boston.
Mr. Maurer, the pastor of Center Church, told me recently that, while in Boston a few weeks ago, he hardly recognized the old State House, so changed and improved is it now that the paint has been removed. I hardly need add that he is in favor of removing the paint from the brickwork of Center Church. I have also recently learned through Mr. W. P. P. Longfellow, an eminent Boston architect, of the general satis- faction felt in Boston with Mr. Chandler's work in restoring the old State House to its original exterior appearance. Mr. Chandler writes me that he has long been familiar with the Center and United churches in New Haven, and will be very glad to help forward the project for having either or both of them restored. He has given me the names of two firms who are prepared by some chemical process to remove paint from brickwork. The cost of removing the paint from the brickwork of the old State House in Boston was about $2 per square yard, but there were some unusual difficulties in connection with that undertaking. It is more than likely that the cost of removing the paint from the Center Church might be considerably reduced below that figure.
Mr. Robinson estimates that Center Church presents about 1,250 yards of superficial brickwork. The cost of removing the paint from this amount of brickwork, at $2 per square yard, is easily figured. The cost of treating the cleaned brick- work with paraffine is included. The cost of painting the woodwork white would not be substantially more, of course, than repainting it with color, and everyone knows that white paint is altogether more durable than paint loaded with pigment.
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The brickwork of Center Church, as I have stated, was first painted in 1845, and that of the United Church in 1850. If both of these churches could be restored to their original appearance of red brick buildings with white woodwork, we should then begin to recover for New Haven something of its, old-time air. The two buildings would then harmonize finely with the new Public Library and the new Court House.
Nothing, as I have already said, would go so far to offset the loss of our once famous elms as the restoration of the Center and North churches to their original appearance- nothing would help so much to preserve for New Haven its old-time distinction or to impress our visitors with the fact that this community is alive to its obligations to preserve for posterity the precious monuments handed down to us from a generation that is past.
December 7, 1909.
NOTES : The following stanza has been selected for quotation from some contemporary verses entitled "The Protest of the Town Born to the Inter- loper"-These verses were inspired by the writer's suggestion to restore Center Church to its original appearance.
"He says it's not scientific-it gives high art a taint- That if the church was made all new it would be really quaint- He says he knows most everything-he really makes me faint- If he thinks he's to guide Center-I firmly say he ain't."
The writer, himself an "interloper," was sharply criticized for venturing to "meddle" with the affairs of "Center" as though the affairs of every church on the Green were not matters of public concern, since they stand on public ground and are exempt from taxation. The humorous lines above quoted but feebly suggest the acerbity of the attacks; his cheque, sent to start the fund, was returned though subsequently "whistled back". The conservatives of Center Church were later joined by the conservatives of the United Church who viewed the writer's effort as nothing less than a flank movement to remove the paint from the brickwork of the United Church which a few years earlier the writer had endeavored to restore to its original exterior appearance but got no further than having its exterior woodwork painted white. The writer meanwhile was satisfied to stand with the late Dr. Munger who regarded the churches on the Green as municipal churches and matters of proper public concern and whose long and bene- ficent pastorate of the United Church was marked by a tireless effort to make it serve the city.
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"This church is a municipal church; it belongs to the city as a whole, and not to three or four hundred families, who see fit to come here and rent pews in which they sit for their own comfort and edification. We grant a certain legal right by virtue of money rental, but no moral right to exclusive use of the pews. Any citizen has a right to come here and sit any- where in this church. The moment this is denied, the moral right of the church to stand here is forfeited. It might remain by sufferance, and by technical right, and through the historic sense that cherishes landmarks and reveres sacred usage, but not by moral right." "The Municipal Church. A sermon preached April 28, 1901, by the Rev. Dr. Theodore T. Munger on his retirement from the active pastorate of the United Church."
"Speaking of brick work, I want to congratulate you on the result of the cleaning of the Center Church at New Haven. I was up there for the Yale-Princeton Game a fortnight ago and it was the first time I had seen it. I am simply delighted with the result. The red brick and white paint of the Center Church has brought it into the character which its designer evidently intended and has done more to beautify the Green than anything else. It is a positive joy to see it. I knew the cleaning and painting would be a great improvement but I frankly confess I did not realize that it would be so charming." (Excerpt from a letter of Dec. Ist, 1912, by Mr. Cass Gilbert to the prime-mover of the undertaking.)
The Amende Honorable
Despite the opposition in 1909 the progressive faction put the thing through in 1912. On October Ist, 1916, the follow- ing vote was passed :
"The undersigned committee from the board of deacons and from the society's committee of Center church parish, beg leave to submit the following report :
"The present red brick meeting house of Center church was built in 1813-14 by Ithiel Town, an eminent architect of that period, and it remains to-day as one of the most prized church structures in New England, as perhaps the chief architectural adornment of New Haven. Half a century ago our meeting house, with many other brick structures fell victim to the doubtful taste of a later period, and for more than a genera- tion and until 1912 the texture of its brick work and the real beauties of the edifice remained concealed by paint.
"In 1912, in tardy response to the suggestion of Mr. George Dudley Seymour, not a member of our parish, but a public-spirited citizen of New Haven, and under his generous advice and helpful supervision, the paint of fifty years was removed from our church building and the exterior restored to its original condition. The recognition of this restora- tion and the appreciation of the long-hidden beauty of the structure was general and immediate. New Haven has taken a new pride in the meeting
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house of the First Church, the building is again what its architect intended, and our interest in Ithiel Town is freshly stimulated.
"It is to Mr. Seymour that we owe the idea of the restoration and he joined with us in providing the funds for the undertaking. He has now presented and placed in the vestibule of this church a memorial tablet to fittingly commemorate Ithiel Town's fame as one of the foremost archi- tects of early New England, and to commemorate the restoration of the exterior of our meeting house as its architect intended it, he has inscribed upon this tablet the date of 1912.
"It Is Therefore Resolved, that the members of Center Church Parish in deep appreciation of Mr. George Dudley Seymour's services in con- nection with the restoration of their meeting house, and especially of his gift of the memorial tablet to Ithiel Town, its architect, desire to spread upon the permanent records of the church and society formal recognition of their warm and sincere thanks ;
"And Resolved Further, that a copy of the above report and of the above resolution be sent to Mr. Seymour by the Clerk of the Parish.
"For the church: Frank C. Porter, Leonard M. Tarr.
"For the society: Edwin P. Root, Eliot Watrous, Thomas Hooker, jr."
The Ithiel Town memorial tablet is located on the right side of the vestibule. It is a beautiful slab of blue slate and bears the following inscription :
IN MEMORY OF ITHIEL TOWN
THE DESIGNER AND BUILDER OF THIS HOUSE AN. DO. 1812-14 AND OTHER NOTABLE BUILDINGS ERECTED IN NEW HAVEN AND ELSEWHERE DURING THE FORE PART OF THE LAST CENTURY. BORN AT THOMPSON, CON- NECTICUT, IN 1784, HE LIVED IN NEW HA- VEN FROM 1810 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1844. ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN.
AN ADMIRER OF HIS ART PLACED THIS TABLET HERE ANNO DOMINI 1912, THE YEAR OF THE RESTORATION OF THIS BUILDING TO ITS ORIGINAL EXTERIOR APPEARANCE.
0
Town speaks : "perhaps the situation of these three churches in a line, nearly equidistant, and viewed in connection with the other buildings round the public square, is not surpassed by any arrangement of the kind in this Country." (From a
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description by Town of Trinity Church, printed as an appendix to the sermon preached at the consecration of the edifice in 1816 by Bishop Hobart of New York.).
ITHIEL TOWN: AN OBITUARY NOTICE.
"In this city, last evening (June 13th) at 10 o'clock Ithiel Town, in the 60th year of his age. He was born in Thompson, in this State and by the strength of his intellect and the energy of his character, rose through many obstacles to high distinction as a scientific architect and civil engi- neer. For a quarter of a century Mr. T. has been well known throughout our country, by the numerous edifices, public and private, erected under his superintendence; and more especially by his admirable bridges, which in all parts of the Union bear witness to his skill. His taste for archi- tecture and the associated arts, led him, many years since, to begin a collection of works relating to these subjects, which he rapidly enlarged, until it had become in these departments the most comprehensive private collection in this country. Being a man of ardent temperament and untiring industry, Mr. T. has throughout his life incessantly labored, until his constitution gradually gave way under such severe exertion. We have not the materials for an extended notice of Mr. Town's life and labors; but it is due the public that some friend should furnish an account of the various steps in the progress of one who by his own efforts attained to so eminent a position among his fellow men.
Funeral to take place Sunday afternoon, from the residence of Dr. Peters, Hillhouse Avenue, at 5 o'clock. Friends and acquaintances are invited to attend."-New Haven Daily Palladium, June 14, 1844.
NOTE ON PETER HARRISON.
Peter Harrison has the distinction of being the first professional archi- tect known to have practiced in this country. He was the architect of the Redwood Library, the Brick Market House, and the Jewish Synagogue, Newport; Christ Church, Cambridge, and King's Chapel, Boston. Since he removed to New Haven in 1761, the year when the "New Brick State House" was begun, it is possible that the reputation he had acquired in building the designs above listed may have resulted in his being invited to New Haven to design the building, though this is conjectural. An investigation now on foot may determine the point. In 1768 he was made Collector of the Customs of the Port of New Haven. He died here on April 30, 1775, and was buried on May 7th. He was born in England in 1714. The year of his crossing is not certainly known, but he was of Newport in 1745, where he settled with his brother, Joseph, who enjoyed the favor of his Grace of Newcastle. His obituary in the Connecticut Journal describes him as "in point of family second, perhaps, to very few in America" and he certainly seems to have been "bred a gentleman." The following are some of the very gentlemanly items appearing in the inventory of his effects, recorded in Vol. 12, p. 57, of our New Haven Probate Records : Hat, 30s .; Eleven caps, 33s .; Wig, 30s .; Negro man Appollo & bed, £30; Negro woman Lucy, £40; Spy glass, £3; Sundry books, £73-14-4; Cane, IO s .; Painted Crucifix, £20; do St. Frances (Francis?), f13. Harrison's dust, no doubt, lies under the Old Green. (G. D. S., 1921.)
IX
HILLHOUSE DAY : A PROJECT TO REPLANT THE GREEN WITH ELMS ON OCTOBER TWENTY- FIRST, THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY- SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF JAMES HILLHOUSE, PRIME-MOVER IN THE PLANTING OF THE NEW HAVEN ELMS. PRESENTED TO THE NEW HAVEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ON MAY 24TH, 1910.
"New Haven has long been known as the City of Elms, and it far sur- passes any other city in America in the number and beauty of these noble elm trees which shade and adorn its streets and public squares. It is a place of large manufacturing interests, the persevering genius and enterprise of its people having made New Haven in a variety of ways, prominent in industrial pursuits. Mr. Whitney, the inventor of the Cotton Gin, Mr. Goodyear of India rubber notoriety, and many other great and good men who by their ingenuity and perseverance have added millions to the wealth of mankind, were citizens of New Haven." Hon. Chauncey Jerome, Mayor of New Haven, 1854-1855, in his "History of the American Clock Business." New Haven, 1860.
To the President and Members of the New Haven Chamber of Commerce: For several years the Department of Public Works has been cutting down the historic trees of New Haven. To-day, from three to five hundred trees have been condemned and are being cut down as fast as the work can be carried on. Many of these trees are dead or dying as the result of defolia- tions by the elm leaf beetle, during the last few years.
Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted estimates that ninety per cent. of the elms that have died, have died from this cause.
It must be apparent to any one who looks at the Green that the only possible way of reclaiming New Haven as the "City
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of Elms" is by replanting. Spraying may prolong the life of the already weakened old trees, but replanting on an exten- sive scale is what New Haven must look to for the elm trees of the future. It seems to me that we should lose no time in fully replanting the old Green with elms, since the elms planted one hundred years ago and more by the Hon. James Hillhouse and his associates are dead and gone, or doomed to die.
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