batavia

Story by Larry Barnes. Photo by Howard Owens.

LANDMARK SOCIETY AWARD PRESENTATION
ST. JAMES ESPISCOPAL CHURCH
405 E. Main St., Batavia
Tower Restoration and Tender Loving Care

The Landmark Society is recognizing the St. James Episcopal Church for its recent efforts to restore this wonderful Batavia landmark.

William Seaver, writing in 1849, stated that for several years, little attention seemed to have been paid to religious matters in Batavia except that religious meetings were occasionally held by “pious” laymen or at irregular intervals by itinerant preachers. One Presbyterian of the time noted that “Mr. Ellicott disregarded the Sabbath and was hostile to religious institutions…it was a common observation that Sabbath-day did not extend westward beyond the Genesee River.”  When a member of a missionary society arrived in Batavia in 1805 to preach, he notified residents of his planned evening lecture, but nobody came. James Brisbane, Batavia’s first postmaster and owner/operator of its first general store, was described by his son, Albert, as a “cold atheist” whose religious skepticism grew with the years.

It was within this context that Episcopal missionaries began visiting Batavia in the period between 1812 and 1815. Services were held in Hickox’s Inn, a tavern located in the county courthouse, Ellicott Hall. By 1815, a sufficient following had developed so that in June 1815 a group of 11 men met for the purpose of incorporating a parish: St. James Parish.

Ground was broken in April of 1816 for a brick church located where Rancho Viejo Mexican Restaurant now stands at 12 Ellicott St. The congregation struggled financially and it took six years to finish the structure. The construction of this first church was of inferior quality and by 1833 it was apparent that the congregation needed to rebuild. Plans were made to build another building on the same site.

The second Episcopal church, built of stone, was consecrated in September of 1836. In keeping with the most popular architectural style of the period, it was of a Greek Revival design.

Bricks from the first church were saved and used to build a rectory immediately to the west.  More than a century later, when this building was about to be demolished during Urban Renewal, the Landmark Society purchased it and restored the structure, as much as possible, to its original appearance.

Just as the first building was plagued by poor construction, the new church also had its problems. Due to faulty materials or inadequately supported beams, only six years after the church was built, the roof and ceiling had to be completely removed and replaced. (Don’t tell anyone, but a pattern seemed to be emerging.) By 1904, this building was deteriorating fast.  The neighborhood had also changed in undesirable ways. Consequently, a decision was made to build anew once again, but elsewhere this time.

This was the home of Adelaide Richmond Kenny, daughter of Dean Richmond, who lived here after her husband and both her parents had died. By the mid-1800s, as historian Kathleen Kutolowski pointed out, the locus of political, social, and economic power of Batavia’s elite “rested within the walls of St. James Episcopal Church.” Adelaide was among those elite. For example, she eventually served on the boards of seven local manufacturing concerns and owned half of the stock in the Johnson Harvester Co.

Circa 1905, property previously owned by the Tomlinson’s was purchased for a new church, using $15,000 provided by Adelaide Kenny. A barn on the property was sold (and presumably moved elsewhere) and the house was torn down, saving the lumber for future building purposes. Only the fence was left untouched, a fence that still exists.

In 1906, 26-year-old Robert North, a Batavian who had recently graduated from Cornell, was chosen as the architect for the new church. Adelaide Kenny had previously expressed a desire to see a building similar in style to the parish churches in the English countryside. In fact, she had given Robert North, in today’s money, $11,000 to go to England for the purpose of studying church architecture. So, it was pretty clear from the start what the style of the new building was going to be.

Adelaide Kenny, with a gift well in excess of $1 million in today’s money, funded the construction of the church as a memorial to her husband, Dr. William J. C. Kenny.  She provided another sum, nearly as large, which was to be invested with the interest used for general church purposes. The cornerstone for the building was set in place in 1908.

The new building was completed in October 1909. Windows from the stone church were reused in the clerestory. The organ, purchased in 1877, was also moved to the new church. The bell, originally cast here in Batavia on Dingle Alley (later Bank Street), having hung both in the first church and the second, was re-hung in the new building. The massive bell tower has been described as an excellent composite of those English towers that are known for exuding dignity, strength, and a feeling of power — features that stem from such towers originally serving as fortresses.

In "A Cycle of Praise," a 1965 publication about the history of the St. James congregation, the authors describe the building this way: “St. James Episcopal Church in Batavia is a handsomely designed building which utilizes, unifies, and richly combines characteristics from many different English parish churches. It has a unity and rational symmetry that is the result of being designed as a complete unit and immediately constructed in toto. The effect is that of a very conservative 15th Century assemblage of components…Gothic principles of building are employed with reserve…All arches are pointed; buttresses reinforce points separating the bays. The roof is relatively steep.”

Eventually, water began leaking into the building causing damage similar to this. In the mid-1960s, the interior water damage was repaired, some gutters were replaced, exterior stonework was repointed, and waterproofing was applied to the exterior.

In the last few years, it has become apparent that another round of restoration work is necessary. Most notably, the mortar used in the repointing of stonework in the 1960s was an inappropriate material and stonework began falling from the tower. (If there were still people alive who had lived through the history of the first two churches, they would probably be saying, “It’s deja vu all over again!”)

There was some discussion about whether the tower should be razed and the building scaled back. But that soon ended and restoration became the goal. Fund-raising began in 2009. A capital campaign among congregants has resulted in pledges totaling $370,000. Another $40,000 has been raised through bicycle rallies, garden tours, a calendar sale, and other such efforts. A total of $109,200 has been received in the form of grants from the New York Landmark Conservancy Sacred Sites Fund, Pepsi-Cola, and the Rochester Community Foundation.

Especially worthy of observation is the fund-raising work undertaken by Laurie Oltramari who, although not a member of the congregation, has devoted a huge amount of time and energy to the effort stemming from her dedication to historic preservation in our community. I understand that Marcia Gann, Jon McManis, Dave Lange, and Father Metcalfe have also played a prominent role in the fund-raising and subsequent restoration work.

In 2011, work began on the stonework of the tower. The focus was on the top 20 feet of the 86-foot structure.

To enable work to continue through the winter, the scaffolding was wrapped. Note the “ribbon” that graced the wrapping at Christmas time.

In addition to the tower stonework repairs, the stained glass window in the tower was also repaired. Glass was re-leaded and cleaned, broken glass was mended, and damaged masonry around the window was fixed.

This work is only the beginning, of course. The road ahead is a long one. But, a good start has been made. The next work will most likely involve refinishing the exterior doors.

And there is more stonework to be repaired.

Those of us in the Landmark Society who have been involved in similar restoration projects especially appreciate what has been achieved so far. It is an honor to award St. James Episcopal Church with this Certificate of Recognition.

By Lucine Kauffman. Photo by Howard Owens.

Landmark Preservation Award
Michele & Robert Bialy
312 E. Main St., Batavia
Outstanding Exterior Paint Treatment

   
Michele and Robert Bialy purchased this 1856 Italianate-style home in 2009. Native Western New Yorkers, they had been living out of state when their jobs brought them back to this area.  They settled on Batavia, because it is half way between Buffalo and Rochester.

A slate walkway leads up to the front porch. The Bialys found a sandstone slab underneath the porch and set it in front of the porch steps. 

Robert rebuilt the porch railings before embarking on his painting project. 

And they stripped the paint off of the front door. The double-leaf door with an arched surround is especially decorative.

The Bialys picked a four-color scheme for their grand house and Robert did all of the painting himself:

• Navy for the front porch floor and window shutters;
• Pale yellow for the body of the house. The clapboards are set flush on the front of the house;
• Gold and white to accentuate the architectural details such as the oversized paired brackets with pendants that appear to support the deep eaves of the hipped roof;
• Corinthian capped fluted columns and pilasters;
• The windows are topped by jigsaw-cut ornament and small bracketed hoods.
• They pulled out some ragged holly bushes and finished up the exterior with new landscaping. At present, the Bialys are working on the interior.

It is with great pleasure that the Landmark Society of Genesee County presents Robert and Michele Bialy with an award the outstanding exterior paint treatment they have given their home; this historic, elegant Italianate-style house. Their efforts have made a significant impact on Main Street in the heart of the City of Batavia.

Story by Diana Kasten. Photos by Howard Owens.

Landmark Society of Genesee County Award
HENRY JOHN KISIEL
9091 Creek Road, Town of Batavia
Tender Loving Care

You can probably count, on one hand, the number of octogenarian Word War II veterans in Genesee County, who not only designed but also still reside in the same home they built during the post-war era. At least one of them would be Henry John Kisiel of Creek Road in the Town of Batavia. 

Mr. Kisiel’s Mid-century Modern home is an architectural gem exhibiting many of the elements of the ranch or rambler houses that were from 1946 into the 1960s.

Henry served in the Navy during World War II in the Pacific on the aircraft carrier USS Cape Esperance. He returned from the war to his beloved Batavia and married his sweetheart Lois Ruth Quartley. 

As newlyweds living on Washington Avenue in Batavia, they began their family in a tiny second-floor apartment. 

In the early 1950s, Henry and Lois began to dream about building their own home. Henry purchased a lot on Creek Road from his cousin, which was originally part of their grandparents’ farm. 

He then began to draft the plans for his dream home. 

Henry and Lois wanted a modern ranch or rambler with everything on their wish list. 

During this mid-20th-Century period of American architecture, ranches and ramblers were popping up all over the country. There were many prototypes to choose from, so Henry took some ideas from the ranches he had seen and incorporated some of his own innovative design elements.

Building a home as newlyweds was not such an easy feat, especially for a young couple with no credit or savings, but what they did have was a desire and determination to work hard and make their dream a reality. 

It took more than three years to build the home to their specifications. Henry enlisted the help of his family and friends. However, he needed to convince people in the business and financial community to take a chance on him. People could see he was an eager and hard-working young man who had served his country in war and safely returned to make a home for his wife and their new family.

The first thing he had to do was get the forms built for the foundation and basement of the house and pour the concrete. He went to the bank and asked to borrow some money to begin the project. The bank was only willing to let him borrow $2,500 at the time. He needed concrete so he placed a call to B.R. DeWitt, whom he barely knew, and told him about his plans. 

He asked Mr. DeWitt if he could purchase the cement from his company, but he would not be able to pay him all at once. However, he could pay $100 per month until it was paid off. Henry asked if he could come speak with him and B.R. said he could come over that afternoon and bring his plans. 

After looking at the drawings, Mr. DeWitt agreed to the payment plan and Henry’s dream began to become a reality. Mr. Kisiel then went to Genesee Lumber and was able to arrange with them to supply the lumber, also on a payment plan. Within a year, Mr. Kisiel had paid off the money owed to Mr. DeWitt, Genesee Lumber and the bank. However, he still needed more money to finish the house. 

He ran into B.R. DeWitt at Angie’s Restaurant on Ellicott Street and B.R. asked him how the house was coming, Henry said he needed more cement for the driveway and could he get the same arrangement as before. Mr. DeWitt agreed as he had honored his previous commitment and supplied him with the cement. 

He also went back to Genesee Lumber for the framing and floors for another year’s worth of lumber. The bank loaned him another $2,500 to continue work on the home for the second year. 

In the third year, the windows needed to be installed and Mr. Kisiel went to Mr. Atwater at the bank for another $2,500 loan to order the windows. Mr. Atwater wanted to come out with other bank officers to see the project before loaning the money. Upon seeing the home, Mr. Atwater said forget about the $2,500, we will loan you $15,000 to continue the building and another $4,000 to finish. 

The house was completed in 1956 with a total mortgage of $19,000. Within a few short years, both Henry and Lois worked full time to pay off the mortgage completely. Henry worked at Kisiel Die Casting Manufacturing Company and Lois worked for New York Telephone. 

With their third child on the way in 1959, they had finished their home and had paid off their mortgage to the bank with no outstanding debt. In the end, the final cost of the home was $45,000.

The home is of red Roman rock-face brick from Louisiana. There are 13,000 bricks in the house which cost of 13 cents per brick at the time they were purchased. Stanley and John Stalytza, of Alden, were the bricklayers and they charged Mr. Kisiel 10 cents a brick for their labor. 

The plaster interior is over an inch thick and was done by the Hales in Batavia. 

The winter had come and Henry had to get the bricks laid so he built a covering for the house so the bricklayers could work throughout the winter. In the spring, he took down the covering and to the amazement of his friends and neighbors, the house was more beautiful than they had imagined. 

Henry wanted round windows and in the front door and on the exterior he implemented those designs. The deep eaves overhang the perimeter of the house. The eaves in the back of the house are even deeper than the front to shade the walkway that leads to the open breezeway.  The wooden-shingled garage is in the special pinkish-red paint that so perfectly complements the brick. The original wooden garage door with its rectangular windows retains the character of Mid-century Modern.

The living room ceiling gently curves in a soffit of plaster to hide the tops of the curtain rods, as if the drapes are falling from the air. Pink marble windowsills are throughout the house and instead of wood, bull-nose plaster frames every window and doorway and the edges of all the walls.  The original Formica countertops in the kitchen and wooden cupboards have been preserved over the years. The only wood is the baseboard, closet and entry doors, kitchen cupboards, and bathroom vanity. The Mid-century Modern gem is mostly of smooth sound plaster and solid brick exterior. Two fireplaces of the same red brick go from floor to ceiling in the living room and basement.

The Landmark Society of Genesee County recognizes we have passed the 50-year mark for houses to be considered landmarks, which qualifies many of the mid-century ranch, rambler, and split-level homes that were built after World War II into the 1960s. 

Fortunately, Genesee County has many that fall into this category and the hope is that people will begin to realize the wonderful architecture that transpired during this period and continue to care for and preserve this architectural style in our communities for generations to come.

Therefore, we would like to honor Henry Kisiel for his original design and building of his home on Creek Road and his preservation of it throughout the years. However, more importantly, for his longevity and personification of the pursuit of the American Dream and being of The Greatest Generation who came back from war to build a wonderful architectural style that accommodated the next generation --  a style their children known as the Baby Boomers were born and raised in.

Batavia girls softball picked up a win against Pembroke, 10-4, but dropped a game to Alden 10-3 in recent action.

In the game against Pembroke, Kayleigh Tourt had two hits and four RBIs while Hannah Bowen had two hits and two RBIs.

Kimberly Walsh pitched all seven, struck out 6 and gave up seven hits and two earned runs.

Against Alden, Bowen had two hits, Taylor Stefaniak had two hits and Briana Janes had two hits.

Several local residents are scheduled to complete their baccalaureate studies this year at SUNY Oswego.

The following local residents (with their academic degrees in parentheses) are eligible to participate in ceremonies May 18 for the college's Commencement:

Samantha L. Yager, of Richmond Avenue in Batavia (History, cum laude)

Lindsey C. Glazier, of Caswell Road in Byron (Childhood Education)

Luigi A. Parlato, of Seven Day Road in Darien Center (Public Justice)

Nikki M. Parlato, of Seven Day Road in Darien Center (Public Justice, magna cum laude)

Samantha M. Kidder, of Oak Street in Oakfield (Sociology)

A student who graduates with honors is indicated by the traditional Latin phrases summa cum laude, with highest honor (grade averages of 3.8 to 4.0); magna cum laude, with great honor (grade averages of 3.6 to 3.79); and cum laude, with honor (grade averages of 3.30 to 3.59).

A 152-year-old comprehensive college in the State University of New York system, Oswego enrolls about 8,000 students in its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; School of Business; School of Communication, Media and the Arts; and School of Education.