Catherine Goulet
Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation
Inspired Winter, 1991 p. 4

DOCUMENTING HISTORIC CHURCHES AND SYNAGOGUES:
PRESERVATIONISTS TAKE THE LEAD IN RECORDING RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE

There may be those who will ask why so much effort is being extended in documenting the history of buildings that often appear to lack aesthetic or historic significance.

...Places of worship play an important role in all of our communities both as historic architectural landmarks and as visible reminders of our past. These buildings are not just places for prayer, but serve as social and cultural centers for our communities. The appearance of these buildings tells us a great deal about our heritage. Together, places of worship-our churches, synagogues, mosques, and sacred spaces-form an important part of our collective history, architectural, religious and social. Their history and appearance must be documented….

This quote from the training manual of Minnesota's Project to Document Places of Worship eloquently advocates documenting all religious architecture in America-urban and rural buildings, vernacular and architect designed. On the facades and within the sanctuaries of these houses of worship is reflected the variety of religious and cultural traditions in our country.

Photographs, architectural drawings and congregational histories and interviews may already document some religious buildings; others remain a mystery. Such information is vital to the work of architectural, denominational and social historians as well as the historic preservationists who are assisting religious property owners to resolve building maintenance and repair issues.

This article is a survey of religious proper documentation projects in the United States. All have been implemented within the last six years. Most of the projects have been planned and implemented by historic preservation organizations and architectural historians, although surveys may be coordinated by civic organizations, denominational offices or regional ecumenical groups.

WHY DOCUMENT?

The primary reason to record religious buildings is as an historical record. In every American Community, historic buildings are threatened by demolition, neglect, disuse and encroaching development. Older churches, synagogues and meetinghouses are among the many buildings that need to be documented while they remain standing.

Secondly information collected during the documentation process will likely be the most comprehensive collection on religious architecture in the region and, therefore will become an important resource for all-additional research, publications and activities. It is important therefore that the information be accurate and as thorough as possible, and collected in a consistent, systematic manner.

Thirdly, the research may provide the first substantive communication between preservation professionals and the religious community. This first contact-through the mail, over the phone, or most appropriately, in person-may be the beginning of a long-term, trusting and mutually beneficial relationship between the religious property owners and the preservation agency. Furthermore, a preservation organization that focuses on documenting houses of worship will be better equipped to assist those property owners with complicated building repair and stewardship issues.

The documentation project may also provide information to create technical assistance programs or other services benefiting the religious community. In Philadelphia, staff used its database to create, promote and expand a technical assistance and grant program. At Historic Boston Incorporated, Executive Director Stanley Smith and Preservation Planner Chris Rediehs designed their documentation project to help the organization get a firm grasp of the needs of the community and identify ways in which to respond to building maintenance and repair needs.

Finally, in a strictly quantitative sense, the survey or documentation process provides a great deal of historical and architectural data, which can be used by a variety of decision-makers. The Minnesota State Historical Commission, for example, is using data collected in that state's survey to historically designate rural houses of worship. In New Mexico, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe uses the data in making repair-priority decisions for the state’s adobe churches.

PLANNING A SURVEY

The first questions to ask when planning a documentation project: What information do you want to compile about which buildings and how will you collect it? The most basic information usually requested in a documentation project includes: current and previous names for building/congregations; address; date of construction -architect and builder's names; architectural description noting significant ornament, craftsmanship and artwork; brief history of building in community; statement of historical and architectural significance; one or two photographs and a site plan of the property. Additional types of information include: condition of building and any obvious repair/maintenance problems; uses for the building, paying special attention to underutilized or vacant spaces; and information regarding the size and health of the congregation.

Defining the parameters of the survey may be difficult. If only structures built before 1940 are documented, important examples of modern architecture may be excluded. Religious buildings that stand in the path of development sites or are threatened should be documented immediately, but houses of worship that suffer from deterioration in poor neighborhoods should not be forgotten. The documentation project should include religious buildings of all faiths.

Completing survey forms and phones interviews, conducting sites visits, taking photographs and collecting older photos and drawings are the common ways in which materials are collected. While research using secondary resources may provide nearly all needed information, nearly all the survey managers emphasized that a meeting with the pastor or property steward was vital to the process of gathering information and for soothing suspicions about documentation efforts.

Data may be collected by paid staff, trained volunteers or a combination of both. Religious -property owners and managers may also be enlisted to provide information, but the quality of information and rate of response will vary greatly. It is always best to augment any data collected from the institution itself with a follow-up visit by a trained volunteer or staff member.

Two projects, New Mexico and Minnesota, have specifically emphasized the role of the community in documenting the buildings. Nancy Amon, director of the New Mexico Community Foundation's Churches: Symbols of Community Project, reports that the rural communities' reaction to the survey work has been very positive, confirming the belief that parishioners greatly appreciate their centuries-old churches. Likewise, Marilyn Chiat from Minnesota said that they weren't sure of the reaction the rural communities would have to their project but that, "We just walked in, and the response we got was tremendous." She cites newspaper articles and volunteer support as imperative in building enthusiasm for the project in each of the communities.

Another question is whether the project will be ongoing, or have a clearly defined limitation of time. Often this question is a matter of what funding is available or how the boundaries of the eligible buildings are defined. If a project is only documenting National Register eligible buildings, considerably fewer houses of 'Worship will be recorded, and the project will require far less time than if a broader, more encompassing approach was taken.

"Don't let the finished work sit on a shelf," cautioned Chiat, director of The Project to Document Places of Worship, who spoke at a conference on Preserving Jewish Monuments in New York last November. She advocated that the research work must be made part of the public record.

Often the research work has been used or presented in another format. The Los Angeles Conservancy published a handsome foldout guide to the city's religious architecture. The Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation has used its data base for additional studies on building management, including a stewardship planning project with the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, A publication and conference resulted from Maine's data gathering, and Historic Boston Incorporated will publish a Case Book with the results of its intensive study.

Finally, the best efforts to plan a survey will go unrealized if the project is not funded. If the survey is to be conducted by volunteers, as it was in Minnesota, there should be funds to train the volunteers and evaluate their efforts.

If the survey process is part of general efforts to serve the needs of historic religious properties, as it is with Historic Boston, the funding may be incorporated into the existing budget. Other organizations will need to find external monies, particularly for a survey limited by a time frame. For example, the Los Angeles Conservancy received a grant from a foundation for a survey limited by a time frame of two months and limited, geographically by neighborhoods.

In any case, whether part of the existing budget or a special grant, a separate budget and funding source indicates that the survey is a priority item for the preservation organization.

SURVEY PROJECTS

Nearly all the surveys identified in this article are associated with preservation organizations. One survey, however, was organized on the denominational level. This was an effort to identify those historic churches and other sites important to Lutherans (especially the Missouri Synod) across the country.

The Historic Sites and Buildings Council, an advisory committee of the Concordia Historical Institute (the historical research arm and archives of the Missouri Synod headquartered in St. Louis) has made an attempt to locate, identify and document significant Lutheran sites. Although the survey began several years ago, it has proceeded sporadically and informally and has not been systematic or comprehensive due to lack of funding.

The advisory committee to complete Missouri State historic-sites survey forms for landmark buildings within their jurisdiction solicited architects who consult with regional Lutheran offices. More than 50 sites have been documented by survey forms, photos and historical background information. Most of these sites are associated with the first establishment of the Lutheran faith in this country, particularly in the Midwest.

What follows is a brief description of other documentation projects surveyed for this article, presented in chronological order. There is a description of the organization's purpose, methodology, results or products and comments made in hindsight. Contact names and addresses are also presented. Readers who know o documentation projects not presented here should contact the author.

Philadelphia, 1985-87

The Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation is a private, nonprofit membership organization that created a Historic Religious Properties Program in 1986. The goal of this program is to provide technical assistance to congregations who are stewards of older worship buildings, and its first activity was to document all of the city's historic houses of worship. This survey provided needed information about the location, size, architectural significance and contact person for each religious building.

The work was funded by a local foundation and conducted by student interns who were supervised by paid staff. The survey included structures originally built as houses of worship before 1940, for all faiths. Interns conducted a windshield survey, guided by city maps. The Pennsylvania Historic Resources Properties Survey Form was used for the documentation and information for more than 700 churches and synagogues in Philadelphia and the low-income communities of Camden, New Jersey and Chester, Pennsylvania was entered onto a computerized database.

This comprehensive methodology resulted in a limited amount of information being collected on a great number of properties. Additional information is constantly added to the database. However, many interesting buildings were identified in the process that is little known beyond their neighborhoods, said Program Director J. Randall Cotton. "I was surprised at the number of buildings and the wealth of the collection. Many of them are architect designed, and there are exceptional examples in out-of-the way corners of the city."

The database is used to promote the technical assistance program and workshops and has served as the basis for additional targeted studies on building stewardship.

Contact: J. Randall Cotton, Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation, and 1616 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

New Mexico, 1986-92

This six-year survey, begun in 1986, is a systematic, comprehensive survey of historic religious buildings. Its purpose is to gather detailed information on the location, significance, condition, state of deterioration, repair needs, age, and style of an estimated 1,000 churches through-out the state. More than 700, buildings have been surveyed so far.

New Mexico is renowned for the wealth of its many 18th and 19th-century earthen adobe churches, which reflect a mix of Spanish, Mexican and Native American architectural traditions. Most of these structures survive in small, rural communities.

Each year a survey contract is awarded to an experienced restoration architectural firm on a competitive basis. Places of worship of all denominations (although more than 80% are Roman Catholic) that are more than 50 years old are being surveyed.

Nancy Arnon, director of the foundation's Churches: Symbols of Community program, says that the survey forms are constantly used by their technical consultants when assisting the many rural communities who come to the foundation for help. The Foundation provides grants, workshops and technical advice, particularly to the parishioners of adobe churches, which are rapidly deteriorating.

The state's New Mexico Historic Preservation Division uses the completed survey to determine future National Register nominations. It is hoped that a publication of - statewide survey results, conclusions and recommendations for preservation will be forthcoming.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe has utilized the survey to provide the database for its Report of the Select Committee on the Preservation of New Mexico Historic Churches. The Diocese has added information noting the degree of religious use of each of the landmark churches, and has made a commitment to maintain and repair those structures with the highest historic significance and/or importance to parish life.

The State Historic Preservation Office and the New Mexico Community Foundation, which has received survey grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, the World Monuments Fund, and numerous foundations provide funds for the Survey each year.

Contact: Nancy Arnon, New Mexico Community Foundation, 110 North Guadeloupe, Suite 6, Santa Fe, NM 87 501

Los Angeles Conservancy, 1987

The Los Angeles Conservancy is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to preserving the city's architectural heritage. "The Survey of Historically and Architecturally Significant Religious Buildings in the City of Los Angeles, including Churches, Synagogues and Temples", was conducted by an architectural historian as a consultant to the Conservancy.

The purpose of the study, as explained in the final report, was to identify religious buildings of potential historic and architectural significance in varying styles and types serving a range of religious groups in geographically diverse areas of the City of Los Angeles." The survey recognized the significance of these structures in the community and that they were threatened by social and demographically neighborhood changes.

The consultant first reviewed existing surveys, conducted fieldwork, archival research and compiled the information on California State Historic Resources Inventory forms. Religious building surveyed were all constructed prior to 1950, and architecturally and/or culturally significant. The survey eventually included a wide variety of ethnic cultures and styles and periods of buildings. The survey was funded by a local foundation.

Two direct products of this Survey included a 1987 tour of a Cluster of religious properties that had been documented. The second product was a 1988 foldout publication with black and white photographs 30 churches and temples that had been surveyed. The publication was also foundation funded.

Maine, 1987-88

The purpose of the survey, coordinated by the nonprofit Maine Citizens for Historic Preservation, was to identify and document the problem and issues confronting the preservation of historic religious properties in the state, recognizing, that some properties were threatened by neglect and disuse, others by growth or expansion pressures.

The survey was conducted by a historic preservation-consulting firm and was funded with grants from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and two private foundations. Sponsors included the American Institute of Architects, Greater Portland Landmarks, Maine Council of Churches, and the Episcopal Diocese of Maine.

Initial survey forms were mailed to300 active congregations that worshipped in buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, or were eligible for listing. The survey forms sought information on repair and maintenance issues, information on the size of building and congregation, and attitude toward building repair. They received a rate from this group. Site visits and phones interviews were conducted after the mailing.

A second survey form was mailed to historical organizations, inquiring about religious buildings that had been abandoned or retired. Sixty-six respondents identified over 100 buildings that had been abandoned or "retired."

As a result of the survey, a one-day conference was held in October 1988 at which a handbook, Mission and Maintenance: Preserving Maine's Religious Architecture was distributed. The publication, funded, in part by the National Park Service, explained common repair and maintenance issues, crisis management, patterns of abandonment, and ways in which congregations have traditionally shared worship buildings.

Contact: Maine Citizens for Historic Preservation, P.O. Box 1198, Portland, Maine, 04101.

Minnesota, 1988-90

The Center for Documentation and of Places of Worship (formerly the Project to Document Places of Worship) recently completed a two-year survey of historic places of worship in four counties in Minnesota. The Minnesota Historical Society and the American Association funded the project for State and Local History.

The buildings that were documented were primarily rural houses of worship that represented congregations established by early settlers. In some cases, the worship buildings are the only remnants of these early communities.

County volunteers in association with county historical societies conducted the survey work. Two paid staff members trained all volunteers. A training manual was developed for the volunteers that included sample survey forms, instructions for taking photographs and conducting interviews, sample letters to contact interview subjects and congregations, and a glossary f architectural terms and styles.

Information on 425 buildings was collected, and included for each the name of architect, description of building, notation of significant artwork, history of congregation and building program, and bibliography of photos and documents for research.

The survey sheets and photographs have been deposited with the county historical societies and with the state preservation office. While the co-directors of the project have plans to publish a book on Minnesota's religious architecture, the state office may use the information to create thematic nominations. Meanwhile, the historical societies are publishing articles and producing slide shows on religious architecture using the data from the survey.

The Project is now allied with the National Conference of Christians and Jews in Minnesota and the Dakotas and is seeking funding to expand the geographic scope of its documentation work. Contact: Marilyn Chiat, 3812 Drew Square, and Minneapolis, MN 55410.

Boston, 1990-91

Historic Boston Incorporated, a nonprofit preservation agency, has been involved with several religious-properties issues and is currently conducting in-depth research on 30 religious properties in the city. The investigation is being carried out by Historic Boston staff members, including a staff architect, and by an intern with the Boston Landmarks Commission.

The end product will be a CaseBook, which will include data collected on the properties and a narrative overview of religious properties in the city. Historic Boston Incorporated and the Boston Landmarks Commission will share the study’s database.Case book entries include information on: related properties, building uses, notes on important stained glass and organs, "preservation constraints" (such as limited resources to maintain building), building repair needs and an historical summary. Properties included in the study were selected on the basis of their historic and architectural significance, potential for deterioration or threat from development, and potential to serve community. Properties represent all the neighborhoods of the city and many denominations.

Contact: Stanley Smith, Historic Boston Incorporated, and 3 School Street, Boston, MA 02108.