User:Hconnolly4/The Chapel of Our Lady Restoration

The Chapel of Our Lady Restoration is a nondenominational Church on 45 Market St, Cold Spring, NY 10516 just west of the Cold Spring Metro North train station.

Origin

The Chapel Restoration in Cold Spring, New York is the first Catholic Church built along the Hudson River. It was built in 1833 on a cliff overlooking the river. The Church was designed by Thomas Kelah Wharton (1814–1862). Wharton was an English immigrant who designed the church at nineteen years old. The Chapel Restoration was completed in 1833, then consecrated on Sunday, September 21, 1834 by Bishop John DuBois. It was actively used by Irish immigrants who worked at the West Point Foundry until 1907 when a new church opened nearby. The Church was abandoned for years until it was burned in a fire in 1927. In 1977, actress Helen Hayes and a restoration group bought it from the Archdiocese of New York and reestablished the church into the historic site it is today. These restorations were designed by architect Walter Knight Sturges. On September 18, 1977, the restored church was named an ecumenical site and held a religiously inclusive ceremony including Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant clergy and live music by the West Point band. In 2008 the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now it is admired for its beauty and used occasionally as a venue for community events like concerts, art fairs, and private events.

"I saw it standing forlorn and lost, in disrepair, high on its rock overlooking our beloved Hudson and I nearly wept at the sight."

Helen Hayes, 1971

Architecture

The Chapel's architect was Thomas Kelah Wharton, an English immigrant who lived in Ohio with his parents and five younger siblings. In 1832, he moved to New York to be the apprentice to architect, Martin E. Thompson. A cholera epidemic in New York forced Wharton to flee the city and stay with Sylvanus Thayer at West Point for awhile. He explored art here, but most of his work was lost. However, he does have drawings from views along the Hudson River in the Metropolitan Museum of Art today. With a little over a month of architectural training, he designed the Chapel of Our Lady Restoration in a Greek Revival Style. This style is seen through its large, yet simple Doric columns, its detailed moldings and trim under the roof overhang, and its symmetrical white façade. The Church was made to look like stone, as to fit this architectural style, but it was truly built from red bricks covered in stucco. In the 1890s a Victorian steeple was added on top, but was weathered and removed in a few years.

Damages

Since the church was so close to the West Point Fort, its walls were damaged by test firing of the Civil War foundry cannons. Another disturbance was the railroad that was built nearby, which cut the church off from the rest of the village.

Today

The Chapel Restoration in Cold Spring, New York is maintained a landmark by a nonprofit secular organization. The organization’s mission is

To maintain and preserve this historic landmark and Hudson River site

To protect it as a place of quiet contemplation and repose

To provide an ecumenical setting for significant occasions and events

To offer programs that enrich the cultural life of the community