Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Fairport, N.Y.)
Title:	St. Luke's Church Building Committee Records
Inclusive Dates:	1965-1968
Quantity:	0.5 linear feet
Abstract:	Records collected by Committee Chairman, Thomas Nesbit. Meeting minutes, financial reports, committee correspondence, architect correspondence, construction specifications, architectural drawings and other material related to the design and construction of a proposed new Episcopal church in Fairport, N.Y.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

St. Luke's Church (incorporated 1887) is an Episcopal parish located in Fairport, New York (near Rochester, New York).

In the early 1960s, having outgrown their Perinton church building, the parish purchased a sixteen acre tract on Ayrault Road (later known as the Brambleridge East subdivision) in Fairport, New York. Under the auspices of rector Dustin Ordway, fund raising for a new building commenced and a Building Committee was formed. According to local press announcements at the time, "the membership of St. Luke's wanted something special . . . something more than 'contemporary ecclesiastical'" (The Brighton-Pittsford Post, 28 Jan 1965). The search for an architect was wide-ranging, targeting leading firms in Rochester and elsewhere, with the ultimate selection going to the large, international firm Marcel Breuer and Associates.

The selection of a world-renowned architect was greeted with much fanfare and occassioned the launch of a publicity campaign, ultimately featuring the model and presentation drawings produced by the Breuer firm. The resulting design, credited to Marcel Breuer and Herbert Beckhard, reflected "Breuer's mastaba building type, a low compact structure with a flat roof and canted sides" (Hyman, Marcel Breuer, Architect. p. 226). Detailed construction specifications were issued, to facilitate the initial bid process, but ultimately the collaboration with Breuer was postponed in April of 1966 due to difficulties with funding.

In May of 1966, St. Luke's entered into a formal arrangement with the firm of Roy D. Murphy and Associates to produce a long range development plan for the property that might eventually include the original Breuer church design. In 1968, a small church structure was completed by Creative Buildings Inc., a firm with a specialization in church construction. The Breuer design was never realized.

In addition to Chairman Thomas Nesbit, other members of the Commitee included: Raymond Beach, Mrs. Avery Beer, Robert Butterfield, Mrs. Henry Martin, Ernest Swart and Romine Foster, among others. (Fairport Herald Mail, 3 Feb 1965)

Return to top

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The bulk of the material in this collection relates to the Building Committee's work with Roy D. Murphy and Associates. This material includes correspondence, proposals, a detailed analysis of the program, specificiations, drawings for an "immediate construction unit" and construction records. There is a small amount of material related to Marcel Breuer and Associates, including a few pieces of correspondence, some publicity clippings related to the project and a detailed set of construction specifications. In addition, there are several folders of general Committee documents including meeting minutes, church financial reports, and correspondence.

Return to top

Arrangement of the Collection

The St. Luke's Church Building Committee Records has been arranged in three series: Committe Records containing documents related to the general work of the Building Committe; Building Project I containing records related to work with the architectural firm Marcel Breuer and Associates; and Building Project II relating to work with the architectural firm Roy D. Murphy and Associates.

Return to top

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Return to top

Related Material

See the Marcel Breuer Papers for additional material related to an intial design for St. Luke's Church.

Return to top

Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

Return to top

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

St. Luke's Church Building Committee Records,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Molly Nesbit, facilitated by Barry Bergdoll, 2010.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: MD
Date: 3 Feb 2011
Revision history:

Return to top

Inventory

	Committee Records
Box 1, Folder 1		Committee Meeting Minutes and Reports Nov 1966-Jan 1968
Box 1, Folder 2		Correspondence (misc. consultants, contractors and suppliers) Mar 1967-Feb 1968
Box 1, Folder 3		Financial Reports Jan 1966-May 1967
Box 1, Folder 4		Land Conveyance Documents Nov 1966-Feb 1967
Box 1, Folder 5		Misc. Notes

	Building Plan I. Marcel Breuer and Associates.
Box 1, Folder 6		Correspondence (includes bid proposal and architect invoice) Jan 1966-Oct 1966
		Promotional Material (Marcel Breuer and Associates)
Box 1, Folder 7			"St. Francis de Sales Church, "Architectural Record (Nov 1967)
Box 1, Folder 8		Published Material (newspaper clippings and copies of clippings announcing project) Jan 1965-Mar 1965
Box 1, Folder 9		Specifications 18 Mar 1965

	Building Plan II. Roy D. Murphy and Associates.
Box 1, Folder 10		"Analysis of Program and Finance" 19 May 1966
Box 1, Folder 11		Building Code Documents Nov 1967-Dec 1967
Box 1, Folder 12		Correspondence (includes proposals and construction records) Apr 1966-Mar 1968
		Drawings
Box 1, Folder 13			"Immediate Construction Unit (Dwg. No. 1-A)" 30 Aug 1966-16 Sep 1966
Box 1, Folder 14		Specifications 12 Apr 1967

Return to top