An hour’s chat with the personable and estimable Rev. Caroline M. Stacey, Rector of the Church of St. Luke in the Fields (487 Hudson Street), originally scheduled to discuss a significant concern of the church, threatened to digress into a series of reminisces of notable times past: the well-being of Ledlie and Roxannna Laughlin, the enlightened former rector, and his estimable wife (they’re well), the early days of the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, which I founded in 1974 with the assistance of your publisher, and the fire of 1981, which almost completely gutted the interior, resulting in the notable rebuilding under the supervision of Hugh Hardy.
But, inevitably, the discussion moved along to our primary task: the Church’s need for emergency assistance to alleviate the dangerous condition of its bell tower.
Everyone in the Village is thoughly familiar with this welcoming church, or should be: its pastoral gardens, fully shared with the community; its excellent primary school; its inclusive out-reach programs, notably a long-time sanctuary for the gay and lesbian communities; its gift of fine cuisine to people living with AIDS; and the excellence of its music programs under the estimable David Shuler.
But to return to the Bell Tower, which is perhaps the most striking architectural feature of the whole. It has seriously deteriorated and is in need of emergency repairs. The exterior of the building, especially the tower, which largely survived the fire, received somewhat less attention during the rebuilding process and now requires a substantial restoration, first to stabilize it and then a more systematic rehabilitation to make it completely safe and functional.
Aside from its beauty, conveying the quintessential character of the architecture as a whole, the tower is essential to the integrity of the structure, as its interior wall is shared by the choir loft with its splendid new organ (though dating to the re-building in the 80s will always be “new” to me). At present, the loft is safe enough for habitation, but the present condition of the tower is precarious enough that the bell cannot be rung.
The cost of this enterprise is approximately $450,000, and the church is appealing to the community for assistance. The work is planned in two stages, first an emergency repair to stabilize the structure at a cost of $146,000, and then a second stage of work to restore complete functionality.
This very worthy and attractive campaign has the support of the editorial board of this periodical, which encourages generous support from the community for this landmark and essential neighbor.
For more information about the project, you can contact Maureen Doyle atmdoyle@stlukeinthefields.org or (212) 633-7817 or you can donate by visiting their web site. http://stlukeinthefields.org/belltower.
Those who prefer to mail a check can do so by sending it to St. Luke in the Fields with “Bell Tower” in the memo to:
St. Luke in the Fields, business office
487 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014.
A final aside: Members of the community have inquired as to the structure being installed in the school playground. Increased enrollment has necessitated some additional classroom space and an extremely flexible, even temporary, modular unit is being installed in one corner of the yard to accommodate this perhaps temporary bulge in one of the classes.
