illustration, not only of the rapid development of the Church and of the remote outposts of American civilization, but also of the enduring appreciation of ecclesiastical architecture as “a living, not a historic style. ”
Designed by Hiss & Weekes, architects, the church in its general design follows certain historic precedents in that it embraces features from several perfected periods of the ecclesiastical style. Suggesting something of the chaste simplicity of the Norman stronghold in the embattled tower that once served a defensive purpose, but was later retained as a decorative feature, together with the cloister, the edifice presents an expression of nobility and character. Every phase of the design has been carried out with painstaking attention, not only in the matter of scale and detail, but with reference to the exceeding refinement, as well as the innate spiritual quality to be found in ecclesiastical work of the thirteenth century.
Architecturally, the design of Bethesda-by-theSea includes numerous features common to the
early church. The main elevation, facing west, shows the tower rising to a height of one hundred and five feet, terminating in a parapet with four corner finials. The entrance to the church auditorium is through the tower, as was so characteristic of the churches designed six or seven centuries ago. The cloister, adjoining the tower, forms one of the most interesting features of the composition. The cloister screen continues around a rectangular space approximately eighty by ninety feet, to form a quadrangle known as the cloister garth. The garth is reminiscent of a medieval church. In one corner is built a pulpit for open-air services. Imposed against the north transept, with the richly decorated foliated arches of the cloister below, the traceried window opening on the loggia and the gracefully designed organ tower rising above, the effect is both dramatic and sacred. The pulpit, the face of which is enriched by carved motifs of religious significance, is reached by an open flight of stone steps which, by the use of a pierced stone screen, connects with the loggia on the second floor where access is had to the adjoining Parish House. The facade of the Parish House is carried out with low buttresses and arcaded walls in which the arches spring from pier to pier, after the manner of the old European churches. It contains guild room, sacristy, a chapel and classrooms.
Quite as interesting as the design itself, and in harmony with it, is the material in which it takes form. The exterior is built of cast stone resembling native limestone. While the blocks, varying over a considerable range of sizes and colors, were cast, the surface closely resembles the sawed surface of natural stone. The colors range from a soft French gray to a warm tone approaching a brown. The surface texture is also varied, some units being smooth and others more or less pitted. Color variations were secured by the choice of suitable sands and aggregate. The texture was influenced by differences in the amount of water used in the mixes for different blocks. The dignity achieved with this material has been largely due to the care taken by the architects to secure a wide variation in sizes of individual blocks, and grading to secure pleasing variations in color and texture. Joints are approximately one-quarter inch in thickness and struck flush with the surface of the stone. The floors of the garth and the church are of the same material as the exterior walls. The roof is covered with a
SKETCH OF PULPIT AS EXECUTED
Designed by Hiss & Weekes, architects, the church in its general design follows certain historic precedents in that it embraces features from several perfected periods of the ecclesiastical style. Suggesting something of the chaste simplicity of the Norman stronghold in the embattled tower that once served a defensive purpose, but was later retained as a decorative feature, together with the cloister, the edifice presents an expression of nobility and character. Every phase of the design has been carried out with painstaking attention, not only in the matter of scale and detail, but with reference to the exceeding refinement, as well as the innate spiritual quality to be found in ecclesiastical work of the thirteenth century.
Architecturally, the design of Bethesda-by-theSea includes numerous features common to the
early church. The main elevation, facing west, shows the tower rising to a height of one hundred and five feet, terminating in a parapet with four corner finials. The entrance to the church auditorium is through the tower, as was so characteristic of the churches designed six or seven centuries ago. The cloister, adjoining the tower, forms one of the most interesting features of the composition. The cloister screen continues around a rectangular space approximately eighty by ninety feet, to form a quadrangle known as the cloister garth. The garth is reminiscent of a medieval church. In one corner is built a pulpit for open-air services. Imposed against the north transept, with the richly decorated foliated arches of the cloister below, the traceried window opening on the loggia and the gracefully designed organ tower rising above, the effect is both dramatic and sacred. The pulpit, the face of which is enriched by carved motifs of religious significance, is reached by an open flight of stone steps which, by the use of a pierced stone screen, connects with the loggia on the second floor where access is had to the adjoining Parish House. The facade of the Parish House is carried out with low buttresses and arcaded walls in which the arches spring from pier to pier, after the manner of the old European churches. It contains guild room, sacristy, a chapel and classrooms.
Quite as interesting as the design itself, and in harmony with it, is the material in which it takes form. The exterior is built of cast stone resembling native limestone. While the blocks, varying over a considerable range of sizes and colors, were cast, the surface closely resembles the sawed surface of natural stone. The colors range from a soft French gray to a warm tone approaching a brown. The surface texture is also varied, some units being smooth and others more or less pitted. Color variations were secured by the choice of suitable sands and aggregate. The texture was influenced by differences in the amount of water used in the mixes for different blocks. The dignity achieved with this material has been largely due to the care taken by the architects to secure a wide variation in sizes of individual blocks, and grading to secure pleasing variations in color and texture. Joints are approximately one-quarter inch in thickness and struck flush with the surface of the stone. The floors of the garth and the church are of the same material as the exterior walls. The roof is covered with a
SKETCH OF PULPIT AS EXECUTED