General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (New York City, New York) | theology, interesting place

 seminary, theology, interesting place

The General Theological Seminary, the oldest Seminary of the Episcopal Church, was founded in 1817 and has been a New York City landmark since 1826. A leading center for theological education in the Anglican Communion, the Seminary’s primary mission is to educate and form leaders for the Church in a changing world.

In 1824, the Seminary decided to build its own building upon the ground which had been given to them in Chelsea, and, on July 28, 1825, the cornerstone was laid for the "East BuiIding". Work was begun in 1834 on a second building, the "West Building", similar to the "East Building" except for the addition of a cellar. It was completed in 1836. Both of these stone buildings were early examples of the Gothic Revival in New York. The "East Building" was razed in 1892 to make W3y for the three professors' houses which are located close to 20th Street.

In style Haight's work might be described as English Collegiate Gothic, a style in which he was one of the pioneers. It was very straightforward work in which Haight relied for effect upon the disposition of the buildings and in which the decoration was always an outward and visible expression of the underlying construction. Haight always insisted that the finish of a building should be the development, not the concealment of its construction. As a result, the ornament was, not an applied thing but an expression of the logical enframement of a doorway or a window or the treatment of a gable or tower to make it expressive of its use.

The main characteristic of all of Haight's work was the sense of continuity broken only by slight vertical projections or by the setting back slightly of one building for emphasis and contrast. Horizontal band-courses tie the building together, and, combined with the uniformly low slate roofs punctuated by chimneys, create a further sense of unity to the overall picture of the campus.

In the 1880s, the seminary's dean initiated a master plan to develop the campus; it was mostly completed by 1902. The plan was that of a letter "E" with the prongs facing south and the back spine extending continuously along 21st.Street, thus leaving the 20th Street side open to the park-like campus. The buildings included dormitories as well as academic facilities.

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