Block
From the form
The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.
NPS Form 10-900 RECEIVED 2280 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Oct. 1990) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NOV 2 5 2008 NAT. REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. 1. Name of Property Historic name Hyde Park Methodist Episocpal Church Other names/site number 2. Location not for publication zip code OH county - 3.
State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this X National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my Dept. Head Signature of certifying official/Title Ohio Historic Preservation Office, Ohio Historical Society State or Federal agency and bureau _ does not meet the National Register criteria. ( - See continuation sheet for 4. National Park Service Certification Signature of the Keeper Date of Action V entered in the National Register. -determined not eligible for the - removed from the -other (explain:) 061 Hamilton 45208-2499 Date State Ohio vicinity Registration Form additional comments.) National Register.
National Register of Historic Places See continuation sheet street & number 1345 Grace Avenue opinion, the property X_ meets _ does not meet the National Register criteria. I recommend that this property be considered November 14, 200g Inmy opinion, the property 1, hereby, certify that this property is: nomination - significant _ nationatly _ statewide_X. locally. (- See continuation sheet for additional comments.) city or town Cincinnati entering the information requested.If any item does not apply to the property being documented,enter"N/A"for"not applicable."For functions, Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church COUNTY, Hamilton Co., OH Page 2 5. Classification Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property (Check only one box X building(s) Name of related multiple property listing: Number of contributing resources previously 6.
Functions or Use Current Functions Religion: religious facility 7. Description Late 19th and 20th century revivals: other roof Sites public-State Structures public-local Total public-Federal district Private Narrative Description Slate Non-Contributing Materials Architectural Classification Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) listed in the National Register (Check as many boxes as apply) Collegiate Gothic Revival (Do not incl.previously listed resources in the count.) Objects brick, concrete, stone, copper Limestone walls foundation Concrete (Enter"N/A"if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 1 7.
Statement of Description The Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church (abbreviated here as HPMEC) is a high-style Collegiate Gothic Revival house of worship built 1925-1927. 1 As built, the L-shaped church complex contained three main elements: the Sanctuary, the Cloister Garth, and the church buildings are faced with ashlar limestone, anchored by a 100-foot tower, and covered by gabled slate roofs. The additions defer to the original building and do not overwhelm it; the overall integrity of the building is maintained by consistency of scale glass windows and high-quality craftsmanship. The church complex occupies a level lot, comprising .84 acre. The nominated area includes one contributing resource--the church The church is located in the Hyde Park neighborhood, a middle-and upper-class residential community on the east side of Cincinnati, about six miles from downtown.
Hyde Park was developed for the most part in the 1900s through the 1920s, with some infill and redevelopment continuing to the present day. To the south and west of the HPMEClies the Kilgour subdivision, which was platted in the early 20th century with relatively small lots for middle-class housing. Fairly modest residences of frame, brick, and stucco dominate in this area, with early 20th-century bungalows and the like designed and built (1925-1927), Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church (abbreviated here as_HPMEC), will be used throughout, although the Education Wing and later additions and alterations were built after the official name had changed in 1945 to the Hyde Park Community Methodist Church of Cincinnati and in 1971 to The Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church of Cincinnati, its present name.
Sanctuary, which faces north rather than being "correctly" oriented with the main entrance on the west and the Chancel on the east. The term "Church" is used here in this description to refer to the Sanctuary Wing, not the institutional complex as a whole. Also, the word "Sanctuary" is used here to refer to the whole Church Wing, not just the Chancel Summary Setting and materials. The church is noteworthy for its rich symbolic program, jewel-like stained- as in Roman Catholic usage. (8-86) Community Wing.2 Significant additions were completed in 1965-1966 and 2000-2001, complex - as well as paved parking lots adjoining it on the south and west. 1 The original name of the church at the time the Sanctuary and Community House (known as the Grace Wing) were which were sensitively designed and carefully integrated into the existing building.
The 2 The actual compass-points will be used in this description, as it includes other parts of the building than the OMB Approved No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 2 much larger lots and houses, varying from substantial yet quaint Stick-Style "rural cottages" to impressive Arts & Crafts dwellings that spread out horizontally. The church complex faces north onto Observatory Avenue, an arterial street, between Grace and Meier Avenues. Moving farther south, the ground falls off rather steeply and gives way from level to gently rolling. The land also slopes up somewhat to the north, but the straight lines of Observatory and Erie Avenues give a flatter impression.
Both the original lot of the 1927 building and the extensions and adjacent parking lots that have been added to the west and south are essentially flat. Continuation Sheet (8-86) NPS Form 10-900-a providing infill. To the east, however, and especially along Observatory Avenue, are NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No. 1024-0018 National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 3 The Grace Building: Church and Community Wing (1925-1927) Granger, Lowe & Bollenbacher of Chicago, Architects; Elmo C. Lowe, chief designer Figure 1 1904-1950 Cincinnati Sanborn map, depicting Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church. (8-86) United States Department of the Interior 823A NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 4 The Layout and Plans The original floor plans of the Grace Building, as published in The Architect for October 1928,3 reveal an L-shaped structure with three main parts: the Sanctuary (or church proper) entered from Observatory Avenue on the north and running parallel to Grace Avenue on the east; the Cloister Garth, a courtyard recessed from the street south of the Chancel of the church and surrounded on two sides by Social Halls; and the Community Wing to the west that combined the original Education Wing with a Gymnasium and Auditorium.
The original stairs were located at the north and south ends of a broad, partially vaulted corridor between the social and school wings. The stairs at the north end of the central corridors are nestled in a picturesque tower at the inner corner of the two wings of the original complex. A large Dining-Room with an adjacent Kitchen is located under the Sanctuary, with rooms for Boy Scouts and Girl Reserves on the third floor of the southern block, and athletic facilities as well as services in the basement.
Thus, the whole original complex was both compact and ingeniously laid out, with hierarchical entrances, convenient circulation, and interlocking functions and spaces both horizontally and vertically: the large Gymnasium and the Auditorium above it each occupied two stories, and one side of The Overall Exterior The Sanctuary Block is dominated by the grandly scaled Fry Tower, which stands 100 feet tall. At the same time, gabled pavilions, bay-windows, and stair-towers that enliven the massing and surfaces are distributed on every side of both the original building and, to a lesser extent, the additions.
The original Pastor's Office, nestled above the Secretary's Office in the southeast corner of the Sanctuary beside the Chancel, was details throughout the exterior provide decorative accents and rhythmic patterns, as well as presenting to the close viewer a well-thought-out symbolic system that continues in the plans on 86 and 88 (on the backs of the photographic plates by Tebbs & Knell, Inc., of New York). inserted over the new partitions. the first-floor corridor opened between rectangular piers into the upper part of the Gym.4 (8-86) the south side of both the Social and Gymnasium Wings; there were additional meeting access from the stairs within the north facade.
The School's classrooms extended along denoted by its own oriel window"supported"by a pilaster strip from below.Carved 4 When the corridor openings were closed in during the Doran Studio's 1999-2001 renovations, Tudor arches were NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 5 interior. Nevertheless, a balance between ornamented and bare surfaces is carefully maintained, even though the proportions are different in the 1966 additions. The original south façade of the Community Wing had gabled pavilions at its ends and, at the center, the asymmetrical but emphatic composition of the original stair-tower, towering service chimney, and adjacent bay-window.
The north wall of the original Romanesque colonnettes sits on the roof-ridge. At the junction of the Nave, the north Stair-Tower overlaps the double-gabled west Transept. The openings on the south façade are irregular, although even here they are grouped symmetrically within the gable pavilions and in other vertical units. The 1965-1966 Education Wing, also L-shaped, forms an informal courtyard open to Observatory Avenue on the north, despite the Columbarium recently attached to the east end of the 1966 Chapel.
Its gables and bay-windows are similarly arranged, if with more restraint, with ampler and more regular fenestration dictated by their classroom functions, although a two-story oriel dominates the taller south gable-pavilion facing Meier Avenue and another oriel faces north beside the entrance-stairhall that leads to the Chapel via an the Classroom Wing provides a protected playground.) All the gables throughout the complex lack finials and even points: they are topped by blunt stone copings that mimic The northeast Stair-Tower has polygonal ends with strip-windows seeming to bend entrance addition. The original south Stair-Tower had a flat stone parapet linking it to the while the north Stair-Tower's polygonal hipped roof reinforces its complex shape fitted into the corner between two perpendicular wings.
The aisles on either side of the Sanctuary Nave are articulated by five buttresses (not sculpture of grapes, wheat, or fish - all sacramental foods--accents the rounded top of double-gabled transept ends are marked by very tall narrow lancet windows that leave (8-86) around the angles; this feature is repeated and even exaggerated in the 2000-2001 south tiny gambrel gables. severe but very discreetly tapered and rectangular chimney (which serves the furnaces), arcaded passage.(A walled courtyard somewhat below ground-level on the west side of each buttress; otherwise they are compact and plain. The aisle windows are also Education Wing has two gables topping shallow square bays, somewhat belying the presence of two large single two-story spaces within. A cupola encircled with open "flying buttresses"), which rise to support the roof.
A carved embossed rosette-like emphasized by strong moldings that turn out at the springing as Tudor "labels." The OMB Approved No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 6 most of the surrounding wall-surfaces plain; this bare effect is repeated on the east and west ends of the 1966 Chapel. The dramatically plain exteriors of the Transepts display double-height lancet windows under the paired gables, with particularly striking bud-like (almost Art nouveau) tracery at the top. The only other breaks in the surface are horizontal stone bands notched to the valley between them.
The North Facade Incorporating a grouping of elements at widely different scales, the front (north) façade is the most important visual element of the original Grace Building. Although now a secondary entrance for Sunday services in the Sanctuary, this is still the primary entrance for weddings, funerals, and other special events. Anchored by wide buttresses, the Nave façade seems broad, rising to the largest gable of the entire complex, which has a similar blunt peak but also the most elaborate doorway- and window-surrounds. The main entrance consists of wide double doors under a well- over the main entrance forms a similar arch, but its lower corners curve suavely outward angle along the edges of the wooden ceiling inside the Nave. The square Fry Tower was named for Anson C. Fry, the chairman of the church's building committee, as well as his wife, Mary Jane Finley Fry.
The deep stone parapet at the top of the tower has carved recessed panels suggesting military battlements or Sanctuary, that may have been intended to suggest the Church both Triumphant and Militant. Three of the corners of the tower are defined by slightly diminishing buttress- crown-like turrets on the great tower of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York, one chosen to illustrate Collegiate Gothic in standard textbooks on American architecture. (8-86) proportioned but low-pointed Gothic arch.
The very large, seven-lancet north window to connect with the buttresses.This creates an ogival rhythm that previews the outward Continuation Sheet of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson's joint masterworks.5 crenellation:a theme suggested by ambiguous crown/crenellations throughout the The main entrance itself appears deeply recessed, both because the surface against NPS Form 10-900-a suggest crenellations that connect the outer cornersof the gables and the gutter-head at strips with charming little stone"crowns"at the top;they were clearly inspired by similar NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 7 which it is set lies farther forward than the plane of the great window above, and because slender colonnettes with tall elegant cusped finials linked by the raised arch-molding flank it. Moreover, a pair of colonnettes that continue into secondary arches flank the lintel of the doorway the original name of the church, "Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church," is carved in handsome Gothic letters. The front buttresses, towers, and adjacent side-entrances are all bound together by horizontal moldings or water-tables with an ogival profile that define the foundations slightly above the first-floor level throughout the building.
The foundations themselves seem rooted directly into the ground. The Cloister Garth One of the most distinctive features of the church complex, the Garth is surrounded on two sides by a miniature version of the interior Nave arcades. The Cloister also creates a visual break between the Sanctuary and the south block; it provides quaint and symbolic French) with finial, which is set above the southeast corner of the Sanctuary's gable-end; it recalls the turret at the northeast corner of the main tower and resembles the cupola over the Auditorium of the original Education Wing.
The Cloister itself rests on rather short and heavy cylindrical columns topped by molded colonnettes rest on modest carved corbels (representing the Four Evangelists or Gospels): South of the Garth on the east face of the Social Rooms is a complex asymmetrical perhaps suggests the welcoming hearths of the Social Rooms within, and the top of the chimney is grooved to mark the three separate flues. (8-86) they divide the surface into separate bays. sculptural chimney mass pierced by small rectangular windows. This substantial feature capitals and arches.On the plain stone parapet above the arcade slender applied deeply angled intrados that gives a perspective illusion of still greater depth.On the stone the Chancel.
The focus of these vistas is the small cupola or tourelle (small turret"in details, as well as interesting diagonal sight-lines up the various turrets and the area over OMB Approved No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 8 The 1965-1966 Peperkorn Chapel the Cloister Garth) to the north side of the Education Wing, the Chapel manages to be both independent and part of the whole complex. Its east-west orientation gives a sense of enclosure to the Prayer Garden courtyard, which is partially open to Observatory the small Vestibule that projects discreetly at right angles off its Chancel on the south side. The east and west gables rise above the rather steep slate roof.
The north and south sides are each articulated by two-stage buttresses between the narrow lancet windows; a fairly large rose window with handsome stone tracery pierces the otherwise blank wall at the east end, which is crowned by a richly carved stone cross.
(The base of the Chapel's east wall is now covered by the rectangular paneled stone Columbaria with iron gates including a rosette motive, which were added in 1997 and The 1965-1966 Education Wing is differentiated by its somewhat lower roof, smaller windows reflecting lower ceilings inside, lack of exterior ornamental details, and parapet at the roof-line and windows at the landing-levels; this is located between the junction of this wing with the gable at the west end of the original Community Wing and emphasized and graced by Robert Doran's 2001 projecting canvas-roofed canopy that is The Construction and Materials Although the complex appears to be built almost entirely of stone, the actual construction materials include other materials, some traditional, some modern. Poured concrete was used in the piers of the Dining Hall under the Nave Arcade.
Brick is the basis for all the main structural walls, which are mostly clad in stone outside and plaster (textured in some places) inside. Interior partitions are filled with fireproof clay tile with plaster surfaces.é The roof of the Sanctuary is actually supported by steel scissor-trusses their underlying Arts & Crafts ethos of integrity of materials. Nevertheless, even Cram used structural steel in the Nave of St. John the Divine, for example. 2001.) supported by an openwork iron frame.) NPS Form 10-900-a Continuation Sheet (8-86) Connected by a single-story three-bay glass-sided stone arcade (an echo of the arcades of segmental wall-dormers at the west end.It also has a small, plain stair-tower with a the Tudor-arched main entrance into the1965-1966wing.(This has recently been Avenue on the north yet seems protected.
The Chapel forms a single volume except for NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 9 that rise steeply above the arched timber visible ceiling, allowing considerable room for access to ceiling lighting, etc. Floors in the corridors, first-floor Social Hall, basement Dining Room and kitchen facilities, and rest-rooms are terrazzo. The windows in both The Materials Typically for the Collegiate Gothic Revival, the Hyde Park Community Methodist Church complex is entirely clad in Bedford, Indiana, limestone laid in a random limestone contributes a particularly authentic character to Collegiate Gothic and other most blocks are rectangular, but occasionally there are conspicuous diagonals.
Larger, more regular, rectangular stones at the corners of both the 1927 and 1966 blocks suggest flat quoins, visually reinforcing the outer edges of the masses. Various shades of beige, tan, even slightly yellowish stones warm the basic cool grey of standard Indiana The roofs of the entire complex are still clad in subtly varied slates of a greenish grey tint with blue and purple tones as well. Many of the original slates have irregular, deliberately chipped edges, suggesting that they had been artificially aged before installation (a characteristic feature of 1920s "period" architecture).
In the 1925-1927 and most of the 1965-1966 sections the slates are graduated upward from thicker, larger slates at the base to thinner, smaller ones at the roof-ridge, reintorcing a perspective illusion ("forced perspective") that the roofs are even taller and steeper (that is, more the roofs are visible from the street; large flat roof-decks, slightly lower than the apparent ridges, in fact cover most of the Community and added Education Wings. Green-patinated copper details highlight every surface of the buildings, its sea-green color contrasts with the overall grey shades of the rest of the exterior. Among the copper elements are the tops of the cupolas (convex or concave), the restrained but decoratively information, was supplied by parishioner Denis Larrick, an industrial designer. form. limestone.
(8-86) the old and new wings are steel casements, with some leaded exceptions.7 Medieval-inspired works. The surface of both the original complex and the additions Continuation Sheet suited to northern than southern climates) than they actually are.Only the outer slopes of (partially uncoursed)pattern of blocks with an ashlar(dressed or smooth) finish.8 Ashlar 7 Information about the construction and many other physical aspects of the plant, as well as some historical convey an appearance of regularity but are actually laid in a calculatedly random pattern: OMB Approved No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 patterned eave-moldings, the roofs of the bay-windows, the louvered vents near the top of the Fry Tower, and the handsome gutter-boxes and pipes. Superimposed on yet integral to the fairly severe surfaces of the exterior is a skein of ornamental accents, most of carved stone, which also embody a well-thought-out symbolic program. Although undoubtedly designed by the architects' draftsmen, with iconographic direction from the pastor (as evidenced by the Rev.
Hoon's strong-minded correspondence with the architects, contractors, and craftsmen), the exterior stone- carving has a certain vitality that suggests the carvers followed their creative impulses in The tradition of high-quality craftsmanship in every aspect of design and construction has also been maintained over the last 80 years. The original limestone quarries have been mined for the stone of the additions, and the workmen chosen for the new interior work have kept to the original standards. This practice continues the Ruskinian Arts & Crafts ethos of Cram and his followers, while sustaining concern for authenticity of period.
Originally this concern applied to the consistent use of the "pure English Gothic designers' desire to remain with this original architectural Gothic vocabulary, while also recognizing the 1920s design in its own right as having an identifiable "period" character which this complex, both inside and out, is both a typical and an outstanding example. Renovations and Additions The 1999-2001 renovations and addition by Robert W. Doran of Doran Studio are discreet yet dramatic, serving to draw attention to the new entrance sequence from the south parking lot. A long, low terrace of matching stone, with metal railings between solid posts, has steps at the east and west ends. It visually unifies the old and new High Victorian Gothic architecture.
(8-86) Craftsmanship Continuation Sheet NPS Form 10-900-a proclaimed by the pastor and original architects.10o The recent additions reflect both their the Ruskinian sense promoted by Ralph Adams Cram.9 of the thirteenth century"(ie.,before the fussy Perpendicular phase of English Gothic) as from the first half of the 20century, specifically the "Collegiate Gothic Revival" of Page 10 mentioned in virtually all sources on Cram, despite his own reservations about Ruskin's "bigotry" and influence on 10 See the response and description by "C.B.S." (Claudius B. Spencer) in the 1928 Central Christian Advocate article 9The influence of the writings of mid-19th-century art and architectural critic and social theorist John Ruskin is OMB Approved No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 11 elements and provides a continuous base for the new sections. The main addition consists of a bold entrance tower with a high, plain parapet, facing south onto the terrace; and a new Stair-Tower that appears to extend westward from this entrance tower under a hipped roof that defines its polygonal western termination. The steel-framed window-panes are rectangular, with frilly cusped stone tracery echoing that of the northeast Stair-Tower at the top. !! The Interiors Introduction.
The interiors of the 1925-1927 Grace Building are consistent throughout, with a graduated degree of ornament, hand-craftsmanship, materials, even period authenticity, extending from the most elaborate in the Sanctuary and Narthex; through the Social Rooms, administrative offices, and main circulation spaces (corridors and stair- halls); to the classrooms and related athletic facilities, to the third-floor and basement "low" (functional and informal or service-based) was marked by a different amount of sense of unity that has, remarkably, survived the later additions and changes. The Sanctuary Interior The dominant element of the interior of the church proper is the long and wide Nave, in contrast to the rather shallow Chancel and Transepts.
As is not infrequently the case with Cram-influenced churches, the side aisles serve only as passageways, rather than views of the Chancel from all except a few seats in the Transepts. The Narthex under the open Balcony "reads" as part of the nave at ceiling level and so extends the overall effectively frame the aisle windows when looked at directly) thus march continuously from the front (north) wall of the church to the wall surrounding the outer Chancel Arch.12 Thus, although the apparent form in plan is the traditional long, narrow "Catholic" cross-shape, the actual character of the space suggests a single-vessel 12 This effect is now considerably reduced by the large organ-cases that flank (and visually overlap) the great north Resurrection Window. (8-86) Continuation Sheet impact of the nave arches and roofs.
The grand, carved-out arches of the Arcade (which NPS Form 10-900-a support areas.Each stage in the sequence from"high"(i.e.,ceremonial and formal) to containing seating;the resultant concentration of pews in the Nave allows uninterrupted design, quality, and symbolic emphasis. But each had its place, providing an overall 11 The new carvings include hands along with the earlier motives. NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 12 form probably also contributes to the excellent quality of the space for music in a "Church of Beautiful Music." The suppression of the visual experience of the Transepts from the Nave avoids the sense of a "crossing" between the Nave and Chancel, since the arcade continues uninterrupted from the Narthex to the Chancel arch. Thus, the interior is clearly directional from the Narthex to the Chancel, but does not immediately suggest the processional Latin-Cross character of Roman Catholic and Anglican or other "High Church" interiors. Such a compromise, nicely adjusted to the liturgical preferences of the best. 13 The handsome dark wood roof of the Nave, never painted over, dominates the interior.
Its basic form is a vault shaped in section like a rather wide Gothic pointed arch, but with the outer side-panels tipped slightly upward. The ceiling surface presents a grid of straight wooden supports, with narrowly spaced transverse studs between the main rafters, and more widely spaced and slightly larger purlins. The Great Depression and World War II forced a delay in the payment of the original mortgages for the church, as well as the completion of the original unified artistic vision stained-glass ensemble - designed and supplied by the leading stained-glass studio in America, the Connick Associates - was not realized until the 1950s.
Somewhat similarly, although the appearance of the Chancel has been maintained to a remarkable extent, the original rather stiff and cramped arrangement of its elements, with the choir facing each other across the access route to the altar, has been replaced by a far more flexible arrangement, with both the clergy and the enlarged choir facing outward to allow interaction with the congregation. about Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson and their colleagues cited in Section 9. the entire church complex (including the 1965-1966 Peperkorn Chapel) were exhaustively identified, described, and interpreted by Daniels, whose text is supplemented by a Foreword by Dr.
Radcliffe himself, describing the character (8-86) denomination and the particular congregation, is typical of Collegiate Gothic design at its Continuation Sheet The ensemble stained-glass windows throughout the Sanctuary was entirely conceived, "Protestant" meeting-house, with emphasis on visibility and auditory acoustics. This for the Sanctuary. The installation of the complete and iconographically coherent National Register of Historic Places funded, and installed under one pastor, the Rev.Lynn J.Radcliffe.14 They were created 14 These windows, as well as the overall symbolism of the church complex and every individual symbolic motive of NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 13 by Charles J. Connick Associates, the successor firm to the Connick Studios of Boston, Cincinnati by the local craftsman, John A. Riordan, of the long-lived G.C. Riordan Glass Co., who had been trained in the Connick Studios. Because the Sanctuary windows are the product of a single coordinated campaign, they are both visually harmonious and intellectually coherent. The array of windows, including the final 1962 inserts in the south doors of the Sanctuary and the ensemble in the 1965-1966 Chapel, provides overall a rather dark yet brilliant quality.
This was made areas of green, gold, and intermediary tones against an underlying grisaille [grey] geometric and floral pattern), carefully controlled thick leading, and shaded edges of the glass pieces, inspired by the glass of the great French Late Romanesque and early Gothic cathedrals like Chartres. Within each lancet numerous figures and occasional narratives or parables are framed within geometric patterns and rhythms, suggesting "mandorlas" (pointed upright ovals with archetypal sacred connotations). Except for the large south and north windows over the Chancel and Balcony, the HPMEC windows glow deeply rather than illuminate the interior. They are also set deep within the Nave Arcade, framed by the thick arches. Both the transept windows and those of the very high clerestory under the roof between the transverse arches are relatively small.
The three windows over the Chancel are relatively narrow and set high over the Reredos; even the large Resurrection window in the Balcony faces north so that its light is seldom if ever direct. "East") represents the "[]iving Christ through a series of narrative scenes surrounding a Minister Emeritus), he "assisted again in the development of the windows of our new chapel," at the request of his successor, the Rev. Dr. Emerson S. Colaw. Who Was Who in American Art (1991), p. 3724; his obituary in The New York Times (12/29/1945, p.13); and various Websites; also discussed in Section 8 below. The Connick Studio was perhaps somewhat past its prime after World War II (Connick himself died in 1945), but still maintained the high standards and consistent vision of the founder. The Studio and Associates altogether lasted from 1912 until 1986. A Foundation was then established by Orin E.
(8-86) Skinner. during the first half of the 2oth century.15 The HPMEC windows were produced under Mass.,the leading American designers and manufacturers of ecclesiastical stained glass At HPMEC, the triple window over the Reredos in the Chancel facing south (liturgical possible by the studio's use of intensely saturated hues (deep blues and reds with vibrant the supervision of Connick's successor, Orin E. Skinner.They were installed in and methodology of the Connick stained-glass windows produced during his ministry. According to Radcliffe (as OMB Approved No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 14 approach conveys a sense of Christ in the people's daily lives, as well as Mission work to spread the Word and encourage the "community" aspects of Christian religion espoused by both the pastors and congregations since the Rev. Warren Dunham's first call to build the north ("West") end of the Sanctuary over the main entrance, the Narthex, and the Balcony "depicts the Resurrection of our Lord and His appearance after death to His Disciples and friends." These tall, narrow panels consist of elongated figures, narrative scenes, and symbolic images, all intertwined within colored borders.
The Other Parts of the Sanctuary The side walls of the Nave are unbroken by moldings or carving except for the plain sloped sills of the clerestory windows. The arches of the main arcade have recessed or cut-back molded arches "dying" into the cylindrical columns, which consist of apparently solid stone "drums" and stand on molded bases at the level of the tops of the pews. Similarly the concentric "triumphal" arches that frame the Chancel are angled inward toward the Chancel itself, without ornament or moldings. The most egregious details of the Nave interior, perhaps, are the heavy, almost "primitive" carved stone corbels that appear to support the truncated hammer-beams or cantilevered horizontal beam-ends on which the transverse arches rest.
The truncated hammer-beams at HPMEC are horizontal impost-blocks that project slightly outward to display carved and colored shields (representing the Twelve Disciples of Christ) on their tend to emphasize vertical continuity from floor to ceiling by means of lower corbel- blocks and transverse arches or even colonnettes that extend down between the arcade more complex truss systems illustrated by diagrams in, for instance, Webber, The Small Church (1937; revised works of Cram, Ferguson & Goodhue, who rejected the exhibitionistic truss-work of the preceding High Victorian Gothic period. 17 See Cram's America Church Architecture of Today (1929) and other publications by and on Cram for typical examples of Collegiate Gothic church interiors. Regional or city guides, such as Lane & Kezys, Chicago Churches and Synagogues (1981), illustrate some relevant interiors.
Unfortunately most local architectural guides, including those for Cincinnati, seldom show interiors; and there is so far no broad coverage of Cincinnati's many representative and distinctive houses of worship. arches or even rise from the floor.)17 (8-86) angled faces. 16 (Other church interiors of this type by the same architects and others Continuation Sheet this church complex in the early 1920s.The large seven-lancet"Resurrection"window at NPS Form 10-900-a NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 15 The walls and transverse arches support the unpainted wooden ceiling, a grid of panels (navis in Latin or nef in French) upside down.
At present the dark grey stone of the arcade, window-frames, and corbels contrasts with the off-white-painted walls. The walls of the Aisles and Transepts (which extend 8 feet beyond the Aisle walls), however, vaulted, divided by short but heavy transverse arches linking the main arcade and the outer walls where they meet the structural exterior buttresses. The north ("West") end of the Nave is dominated by the elaborate stained-glass of the Balcony over the Narthex. The partition between the Narthex and the Nave is divided by square piers into three sections; the segmental-arched entrance is flanked by rectangular grids of leaded-glass panes; separate compartments lead into the Aisles.
The interior has a dark wood beamed ceiling, segmental-arched molded openings, and the The original lanterns or light-fixtures suspended from the molded transverse arches of the Nave consist of three frosted-glass cylinders surrounding a much larger one, all type often used by Cram and Goodhue.)19 To help compensate for the relative darkness of the Sanctuary, recessed flood-lights were installed in the ceiling in 1989, and the The focal point of the entire Sanctuary is, of course, the Chancel and its unusually rich yet delicate fittings.
It is both separated from the nave and Transepts, and framed by, an outer and an inner Triumphal Arch following the curves of the Nave's transverse arches 18 Unlike most Victorian and even early 20th-century church interiors with their colored surfaces and often stencilled ornament, Collegiate Gothic interiors usually relied for their interest on the color and texture of natural materials such as stone and wood (whether plain or carved) against bare off-white walls. The light-toned bare walls also provide both a foil and a reflective surface for the light- and color-patterns of the stained-glass windows. Ferguson see, for instance, Vol.
II of Baker, American Churches (1915), and the advertisements at the back of Webber, Church Symbolism (1938 ed.), which include several Cincinnati, Cleveland, and other Ohio "Ecclesiastical Craftsmen." Similar ads appear in The Architect for October 1928 (which features HPMEC) and other issues and periodicals of the period. (8-86) Resurrection Window, even more so before the organ pipes were installed on either side are impressively bare, so as not to distract from the power of the Nave.18 The Aisles are hanging from heavy chains anchored by metal rosettes in the beams.(They belong to a lanterns were raised slightly since they were no longer the primary light-source.
projecting parapet of the Balcony has panels of fine linen-fold carving.The Narthex bent to fit the curve of the arches; the ceiling as a whole indeed suggests a Medieval ship usual slate floor.The original doors remain in place. 19 For many of the fittings recommended for Collegiate Gothic church complexes by the circle of Cram, Goodhue, and OMB Approved No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 16 representing the Living Christ, with their elegant tracery that seem to float above the Reredos and Chancel fittings.
Although the Reredos, organ-loft screens, choir-stalls, altar rail, pulpit and lectern, and steps have recently (1999) been discreetly rearranged, along with the introduction of a more flexible system of levels and activities in the Chancel, the effect is very much as it was originally.
The Reredos and other fittings--so proudly illustrated in the American Seating Company's advertisement in the same issue of The Architect as the illustrations and plans of the church itself--were carved by master woodcarver Alois Lang of Bavaria and his assistants.21 The decorative themes of the The Reredos, carved of red oak, forms basically a long upright rectangle divided vertically into three sections, plus filigree openwork "wings" extended on either side, all crowned by an exquisite carved wood shield and crown flanked by kneeling angels with inches at the bottom and correspondingly at the top, which projects forward in a semi- (on a diminutive projecting canopy) a tall, flat gilded cross set against bare wood below The hand-crafted, hammered wrought-iron Altar-Rail (which was somewhat shortened, moved forward, and made more flexible during the 1999 renovations) is accented with a pattern of birds and rosettes: The gates represent "the tree of Life: the roots of the vines that grow all over the Chancel ornamentation, ..
culminating in the treetops of the organ and window-frames throughout the original building. See Section 8. Spencer in the 1928 Central Christian Advocate article, as well as by Daniels, op. cit.. 2728 W. McMicken Avenue in Cincinnati, according to an illustrated advertisement in the October 1928 issue of The products of the workshops of Samuel Yellin of Philadelphia, one of the most-admired American craftsmen of the (8-86) grills," according to Claudius B. Spencer, editor of the Central Christian Advocate. 23 panel has a square panel with floral carving at the bottom, then a triple arcade supporting upraised wings.22 The central panel--narrower than those on either side--is raised a few gracefully.20 They also frame the three lancets of the south ("East") windows, window and panel tracery throughout the Sanctuary exterior find their most elaborate yet NPS Form 10-900-a the main canopy.
and, like the"wings,"have fretted outlines of cusps and crockets.The central vertical refined form here. 22 The iconography of the Reredos and other fittings of the original Chancel is described and interpreted vividly by Architect, in which HPMEC was illustrated. This style of wrought iron-work may well have been inspired by the octagonal canopy supporting the angel crest. The outer panels have delicate parapets 20 The sides of these large arches are edged in apparently random-sized stone blocks, as are many of the ordinary door- OMB Approved No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 17 The altar-rail and gates, along with the other Chancel fittings including the beautiful original organ-case screens, are clearly illustrated in the October 1928 issue of The The triple groups of organ pipes in the raised boxes on either side of the Chancel are framed within carved tracery. The pierced infill carving of the tympana of these organ- chamber screens has an organic character: tree-trunks sprout swirls of circular branches and rosettes, perhaps inspired by some of Goodhue's most imaginative designs.24 The in the Highest"--are carved on the lintels of the screens, which are accented by diminutive tourelles that echo those on the stone parapet of the Cloister.
The variegated unpolished slate floors in the aisles of the Sanctuary and the Narthex mix stones in grey, green, even purplish tones that suggest a slightly darker and considerably larger-scaled equivalent of those in the exterior roofs. Within the slate surfaces are inset durable yet artistic small tiles with Arts & Crafts-influenced designs. These tiles received admiring attention and extensive interpretive description from editor Claudius B. Spencer, who visited shortly after the church's completion. Recent research suggests that the tiles were created by the Cambridge-Wheatley Tile Co, based in the Cincinnati In conclusion, the original liturgical emphasis demonstrated by the splendor of the the overall culture of both Midwestern America and Protestant church-life has evolved.
In the process, some of the effect of the original experience intended for the church has been tempered, yet the whole is surely more integrated, as well as expressive of the period; it certainly reflects his rather loose handling of the wrought-iron surfaces to emphasize its handcraft nature. A Yellin ad in Webber, Church Symbolism (1938), p. 19a, illustrates a "Wrought Iron and Stainless Steel Cross," so both materials may also have been combined in the HPMEC altar-rail. Langsam dated June 1. At least 41 HPMEC tiles (about half of them repeated several times in the floors) corresponded to examples in the Cambridge-Wheatley catalogue, which contains more than 150 individual designs for either Company Keramic [sic] Tiles, Catalogue 'A' 1928" (Covington, Ky., 1928), appeared shortly after the completion of (8-86) Architect.
area.25 NPS Form 10-900-a Other appropriate inscriptions in Gothic type"Praise Ye the Lord" and "Glory to God Sanctuary has been supplanted by the "community" aspects, which were always very much present as part of the vision for the physical church, but increasingly dominant as words "Alpha" and "Omega" are carved between the pipe-screens and the tympana. 25 In May 2006 valuable research was undertaken by Rudy Heath, Church Historian, as reported in a letter to W.E. "Polychrome Raised Line Inserts"or"Modeled Inserts.This particular catalogue,"The Cambridge-Wheatley NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 realities of contemporary life.
Classrooms and Offices Wing, Arcade, and Peperkorn Chapel (1965-1966) Charles F. Cellarius (Cellarius &[Herbert F.] Hilmer), Architects The basic L-shape of the 1965-1966 Classroom Wing addition designed by the Cellarius firm extends north toward the Chapel, which runs east-west at the end of a short, glassed- in cloister corridor; its orientation (unlike that of the main Sanctuary) is there liturgically "correct," with the entrance at the west end and the altar at the east. The Classroom Wing and Chapel give an overall U-shape to the entire complex, although the original Sanctuary, Social and School Wings remain dominant because of their projection, scale, setback, and degree of ornamental and spatial elaboration.
Although, as described above, the exteriors of the Classroom Wing are compatible with the original church complex, the functional interiors correspond with their mid-1960s date in their plain surfaces and entrance as well as from the corridor connection to the original Community Wing) exhibits high-quality finishes and a definite "period" flavor. Corridors contain wide Tudor arches. Doors and partitions are paneled in oak or cherry-wood with rectangular The 1965-1966 Peperkorn Chapel interior is accessed from the Arcade link with the Education Wing, directly into its own small Narthex. The Balcony above is reached by means of a small staircase in the northwest corner. The straight-forward tongue-in- groove wood ceiling follows the angles of the roof, and extends uninterrupted from the front to the back walls, unifying the whole space.
The details are "period" but simplified, although the marble altar-table and plain square Reredos are self-consciously Modern. The windows representing "the Christian life," including the handsome western rose- window, were again supplied by the Connick Associates of Boston, signed and dated interior is somewhat austere but beautiful, with an implicit sense of spirituality that suits the weddings, funerals, prayer groups, and other special events that it serves. 1999-2001 Renovations Robert W. Doran of Doran Studio Building Committee for the Education Wing and Chapel was Robert H. Kellogg. (8-86) beaded-steel door-frames. The Office Suite(accessed from the newly canopied south leaded-glass insets.The Pastors'Offices contain built-in bookcases and cabinets. 1965,in an almost continuous sequence since1950.26 The overall effect of the Chapel Page 18 OMB Approved No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 19 extensive, but virtually everything done is readily reversible in the long run, as well as providing remarkable spatial and functional flexibility in daily use and for special occasions. In addition, all new elements and materials were re-created with unusual sensitivity to continuity of visual appearance and craftsmanship. The existing raised floor of the Chancel was moved forward (with the loss ofa few pews compensated for to and the entire Chancel floor and risers were replaced with movable equivalents. The Pulpit and Lectern were moved forward, as well as outward, to allow more choir seating and freedom of movement within the Chancel.
keeping with the design of the original Altar was brought forward so that clergy can face the congregation during Communion, but the original Altar-Table remains below the Reredos, and the original Altar-Rail can also be used for Communion. The handsome prominent, with additional open space around it. The original Reredos was raised some two feet and corresponding adjustments made to the paneling of the Reredos immediately above the Altar.27 Previous alterations had been made in 1959, when the Passage behind the Chancel under the south window was removed to create more space in the Chancel, as The South Entryway and Stair-Tower (1999-2001). This addition was intended to as pedestrian access to the church complex (originally primarily from the north) has been reduced in favor of the automobile.
The original, rather plain and even bold south constructed; and a wholly new Stair-Tower now rises beside it. This new construction echoes effectively and in some respects subtly the quaint northeast Stair-Tower at the other end of the main circulation corridor that was fitted within the "return" of the two main original wings. The new stair rises east-west, perpendicular to the original stair- (8-86) Reredos. 1999-2001 an equivalent tower with a higher parapet was projected forward to the south; mentioned earlier. Chancel Renovation (1999).
In response to congregational, clerical, and musical needs, NPS Form 10-900-a entrance and stair-tower was basically aligned with the adjacent chimney mass.In The Chancel fittings were also adapted to current custom.A new Altar-Table in original carved stone Baptismal Font (with appropriate imagery) has been made more some extent by additional choir seating;the choir-benches faced each other until 1999), a one-story entrance pavilion or vestibule opening onto the new east-west terrace was the Chancel was renovated and somewhat altered in 1999. These alterations were provide primary access to the church complex from the enlarged parking lot to the south, NPS Form 10-900-a OMB Approved No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio Section number 7 Page 20 cases at both ends of the corridor, but opens into the new south termination of the corridors on all floors, relieving the former congestion in that area, both visually and This new construction is clad in Bedford, Ind., limestone from the same quarry as that used in the earlier parts of the building. Some other materials were deliberately reused so as to make the transitions seamless; yet, at the same time, the interior character of the spaces, lighting (both natural and artificial), and approach to detailing makes its actual One other addition has been made to the south facade of the church complex.
An arched and gabled metal canopy covered with canvas and_adorned with an open frieze of rosettes has been extended to the paved sidewalk beside the parking lot from the original south entrance of the Education Wing (which also leads to the main Church Offices Suite). The canopy directs traffic toward the preschool and administrative functions more directly than the former understated entrance.
The 1999-2001 Doran alterations, as well as other, more modest, recent internal changes formed part of a Long-Range Strategic Master-Plan that played a crucial role "in illustrating to the church that additional property acquisition [at this site] was not necessary to achieve the facility they [the congregation and its leaders] foresaw needing." This pragmatic yet attractive accommodation of present and future needs within the Columbarium (1997) and second wall of niches (2001) in Garden of Prayer Courtyard Jack E. Hodell of Baxter Hodell Donnelly Preston, Inc., Architects Classroom Wing Auditorium Alterations (2006) Michael Mclnturf Associates, Architects Former Gymnasium Alterations (2007) Champlin-Haupt Associates, Architects functionally. (8-86) existing site has also helped maintain favorable relationships with residential neighbors.
that were functional (affecting primarily room-use) and to some extent cosmetic, all contemporary date evident to the interested observer. Continuation Sheet Hyde Park Methodist Episcopal Church COUNTY, Hamilton Co., OH Page 3 8. Statement of Significance