Virginia Street Swedenborgian Church
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Correspondences
Aug./Sept. 2003 A Bimonthly Publication Of The Virginia Street Swedenborgian Church
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VSSC Wins Preservation Award for 2003 By Jim Erickson |
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We have won! Our church won the 2003 preservation award during a ceremony at the Harriet Island pavilion on May 5. Budd Batterson, Ann Weldy, and Jim Erickson attended the ceremony to receive the award from the St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission and the American Institute of Architects.
The award follows the completion of restoration work on the building begun three years ago. Much effort of research on the building, consultation with the contractor carrying out the work, and using materials and methods that preserves the building as close as possible to its original design by Cass Gilbert were pointed out for special praise by preservationists and historians at the ceremony.
The award plaque presented at the event states:
An accompanying newspaper article appearing in the St. Paul Pioneer Press points out how special the church was to its designer Cass Gilbert. Today considered one of the most significant of America’s architects, Gilbert expressed several times that of all his church designs since praised and given awards ours was his favorite. Though not a Swedenborgian, Gilbert and his wife were married in the church. Architect and Gilbert expert Tom Blanck noted for the Press article that when engaged to his future wife Cass wrote to his fiancée 200 love letters and, “Nearly every letter he talks about the church’s schematics and how partial he was to the design.” |
It is a tribute to congregation members throughout the years that the church is preserved with such care. Pat Murphy, director of the Oberlin College in Ohio said of the church, “It’s a precious little building and a rare survivor. I’m amazed it’s still there.“
Plans for future restoration include repairs of the building interior. Of course, this will be done with the same care as the award winning work just completed. Perhaps there is another award in our future.
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Editorial Note—In the application for nomination, Jim Erickson wrote:
The membership of the Virginia Street Swedenborgian Church views the restoration of the church as commitment to the future. This is reflected in the effort made in the accuracy of every design detail to insure that today the Church is virtually as it was when built in 1887 and will inspire future generations to continue the legacy of this wonderful example of historic architecture and maintain the building.
In meeting the commitment to restoration a very large portion of the assets held by the Church were expended. A large amount of the money expended was due to the costs associated with the attention to detail for accuracy of the design and is an indication of the commitment to historic preservation.
To the members VSSC also belongs to the community and this is also always kept in mind when decisions are made. One of the teachings of doctrine in the denomination is to be of use and to take pride in the way any task is done. The Virginia Street Swedenborgian Church made every effort in this project to be of value to the community while living out its teachings. |
