Church receives funding for capital improvements

Church receives funding for capital improvements

The First Presbyterian Church of Brockport was the site of historic events such as a rallying point for both the Civil and Spanish American Wars. It was its long, impressive history and the fact that it is situated in the midst of a Preserve America community that put it over the top and earned the church a $100,000 grant for much-needed renovations. The matching grant was received through the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

"The church, which is on the National Registry of historic sites, requires a lot of maintenance," Pastor Aaron Doll said. "It's always a challenge and this grant will help us move forward with the phases of our reconstruction projects."

Located at 35 State Street, the church is a brick Revival structure that was completed in 1853. Under the grant, the project will be to repair and restore the exterior brick and stonework, and the wooden tympanum on the south side, seal cracks in the exterior walls, damp-proof the foundation, repair the stained glass windows and stabilize the large sanctuary windows.

Church historian David Hale said the church has received three other, smaller grants toward the capital improvement program it had undertaken.

"We've already completed some work under phase one of the capital improvement program - we did some architectural work and have plans and specifications drawn up for the other work," Hale said. "A couple of years ago, we replaced the roof and did some structural repairs on the bell tower."

Phase three of the project includes repairing decorative plaster inside the church. The plaster was damaged as the result of a roof leak a few years ago.

"The church is an architecturally significant building and contributes to Brockport as a Victorian village as it promotes itself. The physical appearance of the church contributes to the appearance of the whole village," Hale said. "In addition to welcoming church members, the building has always been open as a community resource."