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Our History
Property
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The origins of Union Presbyterian Church go back to
the Old Park Place Chapel established in 1873 at the corner of Nott Street
and Park Place as an outreach of the First Presbyterian Church.
The establishment of UPC was, in fact, considered a “mission to
the suburbs”. The rapid rise in city population at the turn of the
century prompted a look at the growing northeast section of Schenectady as
the site of a new Presbyterian church.
In round numbers, the population of the city was 19,000 at the 1890
census, but surged to 32,000 in 1900, and to 72,000
by 1910. This sudden
expansion was caused by the increased hiring by the General Electric
Company,
and, by a lesser extent, by the American Locomotive
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Company. Organization of a
new church was formalized
on June 19, 1900 and 81 members of
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Old Park Place
Chapel
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First Presbyterian Church transferred
their membership to the new church.
Land
on Park Avenue between Union Street and Union Avenue was purchased in September of 1900 for $4,500. The Rev. Henry W. Maier was installed as the first pastor in June of
1901 and the Park Place Chapel was sold to provide funds for a church
building. In November of
1902, the cornerstone of the church was laid on Park Street.
While the building was under construction, the congregation met in
the Union College Chapel. The church was named Union because of its proximity to
Union Street, Union Avenue and Union College.
The church was initially opened for use in March of 1904. The
church paid off a $20,000 mortgage in 1925. The estimated initial
cost of the church, as carried on the church books today, was $80,000. |
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Original
Structure on Park Street
(UPC's
current site; picture was taken from an old postcard circa 1910-1920) |
By 1944, the evident need for additional facilities
prompted the formation of a series of four Building Committees, to study how to
adequately provide for Christian education, dining and kitchen, washrooms,
choir, and parking space for the growing membership. Consultants were
hired to evaluate the facilities. An architect was hired to prepare
building plans for discussion by the committees and the church
congregation. Properties behind the church on Wendell Avenue were
purchased. A Building Finance Committee was set up to solicit pledges for
the addition construction. The realities of building cost and pledge
commitments forced a scaling back of plans to have a combination fellowship hall
and recreation space rather than to extend the proposed building all the way to
Wendell Avenue at that time. Finally, by early 1954, plans were finalized
and groundbreaking started in March of 1954. The cornerstone ceremony was
held on September 21, 1954 and the addition was formally dedicated on February
20, 1955. The first cost was about $480,000, which included the two
apartment buildings on Wendell Avenue to accommodate the new building.
Additional apartment buildings were subsequently purchased for parking
space. The total cost was about $740,000 with repayments and interest on
bank loans.
The church exterior has retained much of the original
structure. But the effects of time were evident in the rotting cornices, the
deteriorating lantern (cupola), and the roof appearance. In 1968, the roofline
was drastically changed by the elimination of fancy cornices, windows, and the
lantern. The roof was provided with a large overhang and metal snow slides to
reduce drainage problems. In the early 1970’s, the large sanctuary windows were
covered with plastic sheets to reduce heat loss and possible breakage. Years
later the private entrance to what had been the pastor’s study (now occupied by
organ pipes) was removed because of the poor condition of the retaining wall and
a new basement entrance way was formed.
Sanctuary
To accommodate the current approaches in worship style, a major renovation of the sanctuary interior was undertaken in
1968-1969. An experienced and
sensitive architect was engaged and he concluded that the basic design of the
sanctuary was excellent, with congregational involvement and visibility
approaching that of “circle-in-the-round” form (a common design of
contemporary churches). However,
the sanctuary was not chancel-centered and lacked visual focus; there were too
many light sources; the choir position was distracting; and the organ pipes were
too dominant. His design, as
amended by a building committee, provided that the original choir loft be closed
in as well as the front two rectangular windows.
The pulpit platform was extended slightly further into the sanctuary
eliminating several rows of seats, but providing space for a communion table in
the pulpit area. With the removal
of the larger organ pipes into the former choir loft and pastor’s study to the
right and left of the pulpit, there was now space for a new organ console and
the choir itself directly behind the pulpit.
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A new stained glass window was installed in place of the old one.
The symbolism of this stained glass window is straightforward and simple.
Christ is the cross at the center of the burst of light, the disciples
represented by the twelve red circles, as the light of Christianity goes into
all the world. New lighting
fixtures were installed. A door and
ramp were built to the right of the organ pipes to provide both an emergency
exit and a handicapped entrance from the parking area.
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A few years later the assembly area behind the sanctuary
was gradually modernized by lowering the ceiling to reduce heat loss and noise
level, paneling the walls, converting a small room into a kitchen (useful for
coffee hour following each church service), revamping the entrance from Park
Avenue to form an enlarged office, converting the Director of Christian
Education’s office into a library area suitable for small group meetings, and
converting an original office room into a handicapped bathroom and storage
space. The central assembly area is
now called the Lang Lounge, in memory of Chester Lang, a long-time Trustee.
Pastoral Leadership
Despite its age UPC has had only five installed Pastors –
two of whom served just over 25 years and the most recent of whom held
the position of Senior Pastor for thirty-five years (after five as Assistant
Minister of the congregation). The
first Assistant Minster was added in 1956 and the position has since been
held by six Assistant/Associate Pastors (plus one Interim Associate Pastor)
on both a full- and part-time basis.
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