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St. John's Church (Orange, NJ) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia St. John's Church
| St. John's Church | |
|---|---|
| St. John the Evangelist Church | |
 | |
| Location | City of Orange, New Jersey |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | St. John's Church, Orange 40.776776 |
| History | |
| Dedication | June 24, 1866 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect(s) | Jeremiah O'Rourke |
| Style | Neo-Gothic |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 180 feet (55 m)* |
| Width | 68 feet (21 m)* |
| Number of spires | 1 |
| Spire height | 200 feet (61 m)* |
| Bells | 11 |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Archdiocese of Newark |
| Clergy | |
| Pastor(s) | Rev. George Faour |
| Laity | |
| Organist(s) | Demecq Smith |
The Church of St. John the Evangelist (commonly called St. John's) is a Gothic Revival architecture style Roman Catholic church in the United States and a prominent landmark of the City of Orange Township, Essex County, New Jersey. It is a parish church, located at 94 Ridge Street, Orange, New Jersey.
History
Purchase of the property
The land on which the present church sits was purchased in 1865 for the sum of $10,000. It is located on the highest hill west of Manhattan and east of First Watchung Mountain.
Construction of the church
The church was designed by Jeremiah O'Rourke in the Gothic Revival style.[1][2] O’Rourke was a Newark architect who specialized in church architecture. Nearby examples of his work are the chapel at Seton Hall University (1863) and the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark, New Jersey (begun in 1898). O’Rourke’s design for St John’s is a Victorian adaptation of German Gothic architectonics.[1]
Like many other 19th century houses of worship in the Orange Valley, the church’s exterior is faced with locally quarried brownstone. Philanthropist and real estate speculator Llewellyn S. Haskell donated the stone for St. John’s from his quarry in West Orange. [1] Work began on June 24, 1866.[3] The cornerstone was blessed by James Roosevelt Bayley (first Bishop of Newark) on September 23 of that year,[3] and the church was dedicated by Bishop Bernard John McQuaid of Newark on October 10, 1869.[3] With its huge proportions and position on the highest hill between Manhattan and First Watchung Mountain, the building—which replaced a modest frame church that had been constructed nearby in 1851—dominated the area.[1] The tower and spire were completed by 1881, and included architectural features copied from the tower of the Senlis Cathedral in France.
An 1872 fire caused $7,000 damage and called attention to the extent of the debt owed by the church, which had grown to $265,000. In March 1874, when the church was to be closed to pay off the debt, Bishop Michael Corrigan of Newark ordered collections in every Catholic church in New Jersey to prevent the sale of the property (and the possible bankruptcy of the diocese). [3][1] The installation of 12 electric chandeliers in 1923 is said to have been personally supervised by Thomas Edison, whose laboratories, now known as Thomas Edison National Historical Park, were located a few blocks away.
Gallery
Interior images of St. John's Church
Architectural features
The church, which could originally accommodate 1200 people, occupies the southeast corner of the intersection of White and Ridge Streets, the City of Orange Township. The building is 180 feet (55 m)* long and 68 feet (21 m)* wide, and the nave is 140 feet (43 m)* long.[3]
Stained glass
The original windows, created by August Doremus in 1868, were removed in 1931.[1] A few windows in the entry area are all that remains of these fine works of art. In 1923, von Gerichten Art Glass of Munich installed windows above the main altar,[4][1] including a large triple window (18 feet (5.5 m)* high and 7 feet (2.1 m)* wide) over the sanctuary and directly behind of the main altar depicting the crucifixion with an ornamental Gothic background setting. On each side of the center window are single windows with blank panels and gothic canopies, each representing three roses. The windows were installed at a cost of $5,000. Between 1930 and 1931, lateral windows along the aisles of the nave were installed by Zettler Studios of Munich.[3][1]
Altar
The centerpiece of the interior is the carved oak paneling and reredos of the high altar, created by the Goyers Brothers of Louvain, Belgium, in 1892.[4][1][3] The four rear panels which flank the altar contain angel figures in high relief. Each angel carries a scroll with a phrase from the hymn "Gloria in excelsis Deo." The carved work is continued on the reredos, with the Last Supper, other sacred scenes, and figures of angels and saints carried upward to a great height. Wooden panels lining each side of the sanctuary feature high-relief statues of the twelve apostles. The reredos cost $2,500. The sanctuary parquet floor, installed in 1892, depicts inlaid vines and leaves and other magnificent floral patterns.
Art works
During the 1880s, Lamprecht of Munich installed painted scenes from the life of Christ above the arches of the bays. The series of paintings continues into the sanctuary; they are in the style of the Overbeck school of art.[1] Fourteen images of the stations of the cross, carved from wood by Italian craftsmen, were installed in 1871.[3]
Spire
Although ground was broken in 1866, it was not until 1881 that the elaborate spire (copied from the Cathedral at Senlis, France) with protruding gargoyles and statues of the four evangelists, was added.[1][4] The spire features a richly crocheted area near the top. In 1923 a 7 feet (2.1 m)* gilded cross was installed at the top of the 200 feet (61 m)* spire. In 1881 a chime of 11 bells, three cast in Italy and displayed at the Exposition Universelle (1878) (where they had been awarded the gold medal of excellence) and eight by the McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, Maryland, were installed in the tower [1][4] . The chimes were solemnly blessed on November 27, 1881 by Bishop Winand Wigger of Newark. The pitch of the heaviest bell is C in the middle octave.[5] In about 1955 the bells were fitted with an electric striking mechanism, controlled by a small keyboard located in the gallery.[3] The keyboard range is C to D, and includes two semi-tones, F-sharp and B-flat. In 1915 E. Howard & Co. of Boston installed a tower clock of four illuminated dials, made of bronze, each 6 feet (1.8 m)* in diameter.[1] The clock cost $5,000, and was the gift of A&P grocery chain founder and former Orange mayor George Huntington Hartford[6] —who was also the first person to be baptized in St. John’s.[1] For many decades, the clock was connected to the chime of bells so that the Westminster Quarters rang every 15 minutes and the Angelus rang at 6:00 A.M., noon, and 6:00 P.M.
Music
Organ
St. John's church features a historic pipe organ, located in the gallery. The instrument, built in 1879 [4], is Opus 950 of E. and G.G. Hook & Hastings,[1] a Boston organbuilder who at the time was the premier organ building company in the United States. The $7,000 contract was signed on June 9, 1879, and the organ was played for the first time on December 11, 1879. It contains 2,412 pipes in 43 ranks, with pipes ranging in length from 16 feet (4.9 m)* to 0.5 inches (13 mm)*.[7] The longest pipes, those of the Great Open Diapason 16', are visible in the facade, and the large wooden pipes of the pedal Diapason form the side facades. At the 1979 centennial of the organ, the Organ Historical Society cited the instrument as having "particular historical" merit. This citation has only been granted to about 400 instruments since 1975.
Hartman-Beaty Restoration
By 1970, after nearly 100 years of near daily use, the instrument had deteriorated and become difficult to tune or play. The Hartman-Beaty Organ Company of Englewood, New Jersey, was awarded the contract to clean and renovate all of the pipework as well as the chests and wind systems. The first and most essential part of the restoration project was to re-leather the wind reservoirs, and then restore the Great, Choir, Swell, and Pedal divisions. No re-voicing was done. With the renovation completed in 1972, the instrument was featured at a recital on June 27, 1973, during the 18th Annual Convention of the Organ Historical Society.[7]
Various events held in the church
On several occasions, world famous Metropolitan Opera stars Enrico Caruso and Geraldine Farrar were guest soloists at the church.[1]
Notes
See also
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark
References
External links
Official website: St. John's Church, Orange [1]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p http://blogs.shu.edu/newarkchurches/archives/246. Retrieved 2/24/2015.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ http://www.njchurchscape.com/Orange-StJohn%27sRC.html. Retrieved 2/24/2015.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i Koehler, Richard (Oct 14, 2001). Saint John Church Orange, New Jersey 1005th Anniversary 1851-2001. Orange, NJ: Rev. Msgr.Ricardo Gonzalez.
- ^ a b c d e Carew, Paul (1934). The Story of a Mother Church. Orange, NH: Rt.Rev.Mgr.Paul T. Carew, M.R.m Ph.D. pp. 18–105.
- ^ http://www.towerbells.org/data/NJORNGSJ.HTM. Retrieved 2/25/2015.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Pierson, David (1922). History of the Oranges to 1921. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company.
- ^ a b 18th Annual Convention, Organ Historical Society. Richmond, VA: Organ Historical Society. 1973.