National Register of Historic Places Program
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.
Property Name | ST. JAMES EPISCOPAL CHURCH |
Reference Number | 13000915 |
State | New York |
County | Warren |
Town | Lake George |
Street Address | 172 OTTAWA STREET |
Multiple Property Submission Name | N/A |
Status | Listed 12/11/2013 |
Areas of Significance | ARCHITECTURE |
Link to full file | https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/13000915.pdf |
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St. James Episcopal Church is an important and highly intact example of Gothic Revival ecclesiastical architecture in Warren County, New York. Built 1866-67 and erected to replace an earlier edifice which collapsed during a storm, the design for St. James church was by all indications developed by then-rector Robert Fulton Crary (1835-1914) and appears to owe a debt to the work of the architectural office of Richard Upjohn. The building is one of three stone churches erected by the Episcopal Church within Crarys missionary jurisdiction in this period, representative of efforts undertaken by that denomination to expand its influence in this somewhat remote region, in no small measure due to the exertions of Crary, who served St. James Episcopal Church for the better part of the 1860s. The architecture of St. James appears to have been inspired by the work of the Upjohn office; Crary was personally familiar with the design that office provided for St. Sacrement in Bolton, plans for which were already underway by the time of the collapse, and may well have referenced Upjohns 1852 book, Upjohns Rural Architecture, for some aspects of the design. The Lake George church, rendered in highly picturesque fashion with stone walls and slate roofing, embodies patent features of the Ecclesiological movement and the Gothic Revival style as expressed in Episcopal Church architecture in this era. Among these are its nave with differentiated chancel, the offset bell-tower with principal entrance, and, on the interior, the exposed scissor truss roof frame; all were features advocated for by proponents of the Ecclesiological movement in this period and in some measure popularized by the work of Upjohn and his office. St. James Episcopal Church is being nominated at the local significance level in association with Criterion C, in the area of architecture, as an outstanding example of Gothic Revival ecclesiastical design in this region. It remains a highly intact and fully interpretable example, with important and salient ties to the expansion of the Episcopal Churchs presence in this region in the mid-nineteenth century. The nomination additionally includes Tuttle Hall, an example of the Tudor Revival style as interpreted by architect Charles S. Peabody. |
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