Dear Friends,
For the conclusion of the celebrations for the Bicentennial of Saint Thomas Church we have one exciting final lecture by one of our parishioners, Cole Wagner, who is a historic research specialist in architecture.
Here is an abstract of the lecture:
Over the course of St. Thomas’s 200 year history, its defining physical feature has been its Gothic architecture. This lecture will trace the course of the parish’s three buildings from the first church on Houston Street through to the window restoration that occurred in the current building in this millennium. The stories of the individuals that contributed to the construction of the churches—architects, artisans, rectors, and sponsors—will be told, and their influence identified in the fabric of the buildings. Through these stories, it will become clear that while some played larger roles than others, St. Thomas Church is a continuation of the cathedral construction tradition that its Gothic styling came from; many contributions both great and small, overcoming centuries and calamities alike, have combined to reach upwards and create a physical portal to Heaven on earth.
Here is a bio of the guest speaker:
Cole M. Wagner is a historic research specialist at Robert A.M. Stern Architects. He studied architectural history and construction at Columbia University and the Bartlett School at UCL, and previously worked for Barry Bergdoll, professor of architectural history at Columbia and former curator of design at MoMA. Cole lives on Fifth Avenue in Harlem and is a new parishioner of St. Thomas Church.
As usual, there will be coffee and cookies from 9:45 am and the talk will start at 10 am on Sunday October 20 in the Parish House, Fifth Floor, in person and via the livestream at this LINK.
Video-recordings and handouts of previous Bicentennial Historical Lectures can be found HERE.
See you on Sunday!
