The Troy Record

HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. -- The New York Landmarks Conservancy has announced 23 Sacred Sites Grants totaling $294,500 awarded to historic religious properties throughout New York State including $2,500 to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Hoosick Falls.

"You don’t have to be religious to understand that religious institutions contain some of our finest art and architecture. Many also provide vital social service programs and cultural activities that make significant contributions to their communities," said Peg Breen, president of The New York Landmarks Conservancy.

"St. Mark’s Episcopal Church was pledged a $2,500 grant towards priority replacement of an existing, temporary, membrane roof with interlocking copper roofing on the church’s north side to stop active interior leaks. A past grant helped restore slate shingles on the main sanctuary roof," she said.

St. Mark’s Church, with its steeply pitched gable roof and pointed-arched stained glass windows, embodies the characteristics of the Gothic Revival style. It was designed by Henry C. Dudley, the prominent New York City based, British-born architect renowned for his Gothic Revival Episcopal churches, and constructed in 1858.

Unlike most of the churches designed by Dudley, this church was executed in brick and not stone. The church is architecturally significant as a representative example of a Gothic Revival building in the English parish style. The church has a high level of architectural integrity; its enlargement to the north and south was designed by Dudley in 1865. A stucco-clad parish hall was added at the rear of the church in 1912-1913.

The church building is relatively small, but has a large number of roof transitions and small roofs. In 2007, with the help of a Conservancy grant, the church installed new slate roofing at locations where slate had been removed. This project addresses additional areas with active leaks, including several where temporary roofing membrane has been installed on top of slate. The project addresses the installation of new interlocking copper roofing at the north side of the church, where several sections of roof collect and funnel snow through a four foot opening or "valley," and where temporary rubberized roofing membrane has been draped over failing slate to address active interior leaks in this location.

Beyond worship, community outreach services include the Hoosick Area Church Association, which sponsors the regional Food Pantry; the Hoosick Area Youth Coalition; Scout troops, and the local Parks Commission. The church regularly hosts free classical music concerts. The church also operates a thrift shop that serves 50-75 people per month and free monthly Sunday dinners provided by the church serve between 50-60 community members. In addition, the church provides free weekly after-school programs that focus on drama and music for elementary school children.