Three Long Island Churches Nominated for National Register

Three very interesting churches on the western end of Long Island have been nominated by the NYS-OPRHP for the National Register of Historic Places.

The Grace Methodist Episcopal church, now known as the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church at 7002 Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, was built 1899–1900 in the Romanesque Rural style with “an auditorium plan.”

The St. James Church, once called The Church of England in America mission church at Newton, is at 86–02 Broadway in Elmhurst. The present St. James Parish Hall was the original sanctuary constructed in 1735. It is the oldest remaining mission church built by the Church of England in New York City.

St. Mary’s Chapel, formerly St. Mary’s Episcopal Church on Rushmore Avenue between Roslyn Avenue and Glen Cove Avenue in Carle Place, was built in 1926 in the “black-andwhite” Tudor Revival style with half-timbering of vertical members separated by white stucco. It was originally founded as a missionary chapel of Westbury’s Church of the Advent.

SPLIA Gallery Exhibition

Made on Long Island: Recent Discoveries in the Decorative Arts, running through December 12, 1999 features some of the important discoveries made by Dean Failey and published in SPLIA’s new edition of Long Island Is My Nation, The Decorative Arts & Craftsmen, 1640–1830. Examples of furniture, silver, textiles, and other items from artisans throughout Long Island are shown. Among the highlights is a signed and dated desk by Thomas Cooper. This example is especially interesting as it is signed and dated “Thomas Helme Esquire, August 1770.” Thomas Helme (1728–1818) of Miller Place, Brookhaven, a prominent member of the community held several public offices during the Revolutionary War. Cooper’s headstone in Miller Place reads “Thomas Cooper, Carpenter of Southampton.” Another highlight is a needle point picture by Nancy S. Burnham, a young girl attending Mrs. Lyman Beecher’s School in East Hampton, where sewing and needlework were taught.

Corrections

In the fall 1998 Preservation Notes Vol. 3 4, the statement that a builder named Munsil had built Camp David, the presidential retreat, was incorrect. First of all, the correct name is Ben Muncil according to the Adirondack Architectural Heritage Society. Furthermore the AAHS reports that Ben Muncil died in 1930 and Camp David apparently was not built until 1936. Saving Historic Roads, Design & Policy Guidelines is the correct title of the book by Paul Daniel Marriott that was mentioned in the 1998 Preservation Notes under Books Received.