St. Stanislaus Church in Rochester is an outstanding example of an urban house of worship restored through the hard work and perseverance of its parishioners, and provides many excellent lessons to other congregations facing similar challenges with their historic buildings.
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Background
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church was built in 1907-1909 at the corner of Hudson Avenue and Norton Street in northeast Rochester as the spiritual home to Rochester’s growing Polish community. Designed by Rochester architectural firm Gordon and Madden, the church features vivid religious decorations, paid for by generous donations from individuals, families, and parish societies, that tangibly convey the Eastern European heritage of the parish. Although the Polish-American community in Rochester, originally concentrated in the neighborhood around the church, has largely assimilated and dispersed into the wider region, St. Stanislaus, with a congregation of approximately 1,000 families, remains an important link to Polish cultural heritage for new immigrants and for area residents of Polish descent.
By the 1990s the church, although well tended, was showing signs of age. Fortunately, the congregation at St. Stanislaus was unusually committed to the building and went to extraordinary lengths to save it from the fates that have befallen many other historic urban churches.
Planning, Raising Funds, and Restoring the Church
The congregation conducted two ambitious restoration efforts, beginning with the restoration of the 44 original stained-glass windows made in Austria. To start off this campaign in 1991, they invited a nationally known stained glass consultant from New Jersey to prepare a condition report; based on this report, they contracted with Pike Studios, located in Rochester, to do the work. A successful fund-raising campaign collected $120,000, supplemented by $8,500 in grants. Restoration work was completed in 1995. This project was featured in an article by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, which runs a statewide grant program for historic houses of worship.
The second major restoration effort, which began in 1997 and is expected to continue into 2004, focused on structural repairs. The Parish Council began by hiring Rochester firm Bero Architecture to prepare a condition report, partially funded by a $1000 grant from the National Trust. Based on the needs and priorities identified in the report, the Church Restoration Committee set a goal of raising $500,000 over five years. This goal was attained in September 1999, more than three years ahead of schedule; funds raised after the goal was reached were dedicated to additional projects. In addition, the church’s success in acquiring grants continued, with $42,200 raised.
Restoration work carefully followed the recommendations of Bero Architecture, and included the restoration of the tower as well as less glamorous projects such as masonry repairs, electrical upgrades, and asbestos removal. Projects planned for 2003-04 include the completion of interior restoration work and replacement of the cupola with an identical one. All told, the church anticipates spending approximately $900,000 on the repairs.
Lessons Learned
The amazing success of this restoration effort was not a matter of chance. It represents the hard work of many talented and dedicated parishioners who believed strongly in their church and in the project. Kathy Urbanic, chair of the Church Restoration Committee, has written about the lessons the parish learned, and hopes that their experience will be helpful to other congregations struggling with similar issues:
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St. Stanislaus Church Restoration Campaign:
Advice for other parishes / lessons learned
- Plan thoroughly and thoughtfully. Thinking through and outlining a plan of action proved invaluable for us, in regard to both our fund-raising campaign and our program of repairs. I would strongly recommend that any congregation considering work on its church begin by having a condition report prepared. We have used ours as a Bible for our restoration program, drawing upon it continually to understand the need for specific repairs, prioritize projects, and estimate costs. We also made good use of the photos in the report, enlarging them and setting up displays so that parishioners could see and appreciate the extent of deterioration on masonry, roofs, gutters and down spouts, and other parts of the building.
- Entrust the repair of your church to knowledgeable, skilled professionals. In an effort to economize, congregations are often tempted to forego the services of an architect, or to choose the lowest-bidding contractor. Our Restoration Committee made the decision that work on our church would be done according to the best standards of historic preservation. We have received excellent guidance and oversight from Bero Architecture, and we have selected contractors based not only on cost but also on experience. Our program of repairs, which has been extensive and complex, has gone smoothly. We feel we have not only respected the character of the church but have also helped safeguard its structure for years to come. Also, the committee learned that when work is done well and according to high standards, parishioners will have confidence and will respond with support.
- Communicate openly and often with the congregation. Our committee placed priority on keeping the congregation informed about both the fund-raising campaign and the repairs. We shared with them our goals, our progress in raising money, and the progress of each project as repairs were carried out. We felt that it would be important for people who had contributed to the campaign to see that their money was being spent responsibly, as we had promised. In turn, our parishioners have developed great pride in and a sense of ownership for the Restoration Campaign.
- Identify and reach out to your broadest base of support. In our case, we were able to request support for the campaign not only from parishioners and parish societies, but also from Polish community organizations, alumni of our school, former parishioners whose roots are at St. Stanislaus, and other people who appreciate the architecture and history of our church. We also took every opportunity to apply for grant support.
- Think positively! Don’t be discouraged or intimidated when faced with a program of repairs and the accompanying fund-raising. Believe that you can succeed, communicate to others that the goal is important and attainable, and move forward one step at a time.
Prepared by Kathy Urbanic
The Details
Grants in 1991-95 Stained-Glass Window Restoration Project:
$1,500 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to support continued work with the stained-glass window consultant (1992)
$5,000 from the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Sacred Sites program for window restoration work (1993)
$2,000 from the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester that funded publication of gorgeous full-color booklet with pictures and descriptions of each window (1995)
Grants in the 1998-2004 Church Restoration Campaign:
$1,000 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to help pay for a thorough condition report by Bero Architecture (1997)
$10,000 from the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Sacred Sites program for the tower restoration (1999)
$5,000 from the Louis Skalny Foundation for the general campaign (1999)
$2,200 from the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Consulting Resources Fund to investigate the condition of the cupola
$25,000 from the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Robert W. Wilson Sacred Sites Challenge, for the replacement of the cupola
