Telling the SAT Story: Trinity Church
Buffalo Trinity Episcopal Church
Buffalo, New York
Year of Award: 2010
Federal Amount: $178,615
Matching Amount: $178,615
Trinity Episcopal Church, located in Buffalo, New York, was built between 1869 and 1905. It is historically and architecturally significant as a distinguished religious complex of Gothic buildings reflecting the growth of a major American city and new developments in the areas of art and stone architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Listed in both the New York and National Registers of Historic Places, the church complex is the site of artistically influential examples of opalescent glass and interior decoration by American artist John LaFarge, who achieved great artistic advances in stained glass techniques.
Exterior view, courtesy of Buffalo Trinity Episcopal Church.
The small, inner city congregation was faced with an impossible task back in 2009. Its three large structures were all in need of repair as leaking water was running down walls and flooding the basements. The community had just completed a capital campaign with the crowning glory being the replacement of the tracery on its iconic LaFarge rose window gracing the front of the church. Six weeks after completion of the campaign, glass starting falling from the front tower window and plywood had to be hastily erected for protection. They were now faced with over $900,000 in costs for further restoration.
Interior damage, courtesy of National Park Service.
The church applied for and received a New York State Environmental Protection Fund grant in the amount of $528,796 but had nowhere to go for the required 25% matching funds. With imminent threat of additional damage, Trinity Church received a Save America’s Treasures (SAT) grant in the amount of $178,615 in the nick of time in 2010. The congregation then raised an additional $193,951 as well as receiving a NY State Landmark Conservancy Sacred Site grant for $2,000.
Exterior roof damage, courtesy of National Park Service.
With these combined funds enabled by SAT, they were able to address these preservation goals:
- Install glass protective covering for the front stained glass window of the tower;
- Repair and paint the exterior window and eaves;
- Restore the Undercroft (basement) to update mechanicals and correct interior water infiltration problems;
- Install a new drainage/grading system to alleviate flooding and water infiltration and repair the exterior foundation; and
- Replace the Trinity Place roof, repair the Christ Chapel roof, and repair roof sections over the Alter/Apse areas of Trinity Church.
Without the SAT grant, Trinity would not have been able to match the New York State grant and would not have been able to go on with the restoration project. The combined monies raised enabled them to complete all of the exterior work to the buildings – roofing, grading, drainage, window repair, protective covering for the tower window as well as the demolition, asbestos abatement, and window replacement in the Undercroft.
Unfortunately, the costs associated with the roof replacement to both the chapel and the church were higher than anticipated so the interior work could not be completed. Additionally, it was discovered that most of the 20 historically significant windows contained asbestos so new funds are now being raised to continue the project.
Stained glass window, courtesy of National Park Service.
Trinity Episcopal Church is recognized as contributing to the community pride, authenticity, and local character of Buffalo as an important economic and educational asset, tourism destination, and community anchor that complements and supports New York State’s extensive arts, culture, education, recreation, entertainment, and natural resources. The church attracts over 1,000 tourists each year in addition to the hundreds of non-congregant visitors who attend weddings, concerts, classes, and visit tenants. Trinity is a vibrant tourist destination as well as a regional resource, enjoyed and admired by those who live, work, and visit downtown Buffalo.
Interior Christ Chapel, courtesy of Buffalo Trinity Episcopal Church.
Many historic churches across America contain irreplaceable examples of art, windows, tiles, and carvings but there are few sources of eligible funding for work on religious properties so preservation work falls to the congregations. Often these historic structures are found in inner cities with the poorest congregations having limited additional resources for preservation. Save America’s Treasures looked beyond the use of a structure and only at the treasures within. In funding the Trinity Church Restoration Project, the SAT program was able to play a critical role in preserving and saving this American treasure for everyone to enjoy.
For more information on the history of Trinity Episcopal Church and their priceless windows, please go to http://www.trinitybuffalo.org/windows.html or follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Trinitybuffalo or Twitter @TrinityBuffalo1.
Established in 1999, the Save America’s Treasures program is managed by the National Park Service, with the National Endowment Agencies, to preserve and protect nationally significant properties and collections for future generations of Americans. Stories of saving those treasures will be shared through partnership with the American Architecture Foundation.
Title photo courtesy of Buffalo Trinity Episcopal Church.
