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DESCRIPTION OF BUILDING
The
building is situated on a lot approximately 100 by 200 feet where the
old church stood, and covers nearly all the lot except the corner which
has a sunken garden effect. There are approximately 11,000 square feet
of surface under roof.
The church plant really consists of two
separate structures-the church auditorium and the social service building, connected by the tower. The architectural style is Gothic -
the church proper, 13th Century, having a pointed roof and the balance
flat roof with battlement parapets, of a later period, about 15th
Century.
The auditorium, including gallery and choir, seats
approximately 500 people. The main organ pipes are housed on each side
of the choir and all are concealed.
On the first floor underneath the
auditorium are located the prayer meeting room, adult class rooms,
nursery, echo organ and organ blowers. This floor is extended through
the rest of the plant in which are situated the mechanical room, the
offices and library, the beginners and primary Sunday School rooms
ALL MODERN FACILITIES
On the
second floor of the social service building, which has the same level as
the church auditorium, are situated the intermediate department, ladies
parlor, and the kitchen, over the mechanical room. On the third floor is
the Junior Department and club room.
The tower is 72 feet high and
has five floors-the entrance hall, minister's study, choir room, storage
room and belfry. There is ample room in the last for chimes, to be
installed at a later date.
Double toilets are on two floors and
drinking fountains on three floors. The building was adequately heated by direct steam radiation. Fuel oil is used exclusively.
The
auditorium is ventilated by a large exhaust fan over the choir arch, and
provision is also made for fans on side walls.
The floor is concrete
under' cork tile. The baptismal font is of Caen stone. All trim and
furniture is oak, and the plastered walls are toned with rotten stone.
The roof timbers and ceilings are pine stained brown. The hardware is
hand 'wrought iron and fixtures are antique of Gothic design.
THE WINDOWS
The windows are
one of the distinctive features of the church. They are memorial to
Lauren Eastman Rogers, given by his mother and widow. The art glass is
all old style, imported and set by traditional methods. In each window
is a panel symbolic of some Biblical or church character, ranging from
Abraham to the modern reformers. The following letter from the designer
and builder, 0. W. Heinigke, is explanatory:
"The four Evangelists in
the window over platform are too well known to need comment. The wheat
and grapes are symbols of the body and blood of our Lord. The large
symbol in the center is evolved from a picture of Gordon's "Tomb in the
Garden," outside the walls of Jerusalem, taken by my rector last summer.
The Resurrection is symbolized by the great light inside the tomb, which
is super-natural in that it throws no light outside.
The four great
Prophets represented in the winnow over entrance, are the ones
associated with the four Evangelists by reason of the similarities in
their works. They were sup-posed by some to have been re-incarnated in
the Evangelists and are shown in one of the transept windows at
Chartres, as bearing the Evangelists on their shoulders.
NORTH SIDE-No. 1. Luther. Emblem is taken from his
seal and coat of arms. it is found in many places, among which are
"Martin Luther, the Man and His Works," by McGiffert and "Planches de
l'armorial General," by Reitstap.
In a corner of a portrait of
Luther, is found an entirely different escutcheon, which may be the arms
borne by his family before he adopted his own.
No.2. Philipp
Melanchthon. Emblem taken from the corner of a portrait by Cranach,
found in a book called "Atlas de Gravures relatives a l'Histoire
Universelle." In the same buck is a portrait of Lather by Cranach, with
his well known emblem used in the same way, so this is probably just as
correct as that.
This is the only instance of its use we could find,
and he seems to have borne no family arms. We could find no other emblem
of any kind nor record of why this was used in this Instance. If the
portraitist intended to start something, he has. The French books spell
it "Philippe Melanchthon."
No. 3. St. John Chrysostom. Covered by
description in "Sacred and Legendary Art" by Mrs. Jameson. We have sent
a copy of this td the Lauren Rogers Library.
No. 4. St. Gregory,
ditto.
No 5. Virgin Mary, too well known to need explanation.
I am
not sure whether Gabriel carries the lily as his own emblem or to
indicate his office in the Annunciation. It was the symbol of purity
before it was assigned to Mary as her emblem.
No. 6. St. Peter is
fully covered by Mrs. Jameson.
No. 7. Strange to say, we could find
no instance of Samuel having been represented with or by an emblem, so
we used the horn of oil which he used on such momentous occasions.
No. 8. The Sacrificial Knife is so often used to represent or identify
Abraham that it will never be questioned.
SOUTH-No. 1. Calvin. His emblem is taken from the
seal he used, which bore a shield flanked by the letters J & C or "I" as
it was written.
It is found in many places, after the year 1549 when
it first appeared. It is used iii the first volume of "J. Calvin" by E.
Doumergue who describes it as "Coeur tendu a Dieu energetique."
No.
2. Knox was a County Mayo Irish nobleman and used the arms of his
family, as shown Plate 331 in Reitstap. It is a Montfalcon.
Numbers
3, 4 and 5 are covered by Jameson.
No.6. St. Timothy of Ephesus is
pictured with a club as his emblem, in a window at Neuwiller.
No. 7.
David is shown with a harp or represented by one, in a great many
places, among which is a roodscreen at Southwold Church, England.
No.8 The same of Moses and the Tables of the Law. The staff is often
added but is not necessary. When pictured he has the peculiar halo which
took the form of two rays of light which were mistaken for horns and are
sometimes shown as such by the ignorant. He appears with the Tables in a
painted roodacreen at Westhall, England.
A good book to get evidence
out of is "Saints and their Emblems" by the Drakes.
Wilfred Drake is
a partner of Roy G. Thomas who sold that old heraldic stained glass
panel for the Laurel Library and who furnished most of the old fragments
of window glass for the windows of the church."
Reprint of a 1926
magazine article.
Click here to view window details.
ORGAN DISTINCTIVE FEATURE - description of the church's original 1925
Austin pipe organ, since replaced by Aeolian-Skinner
The organ was largely planned by
Rev. P. W. McClintock, D. D., after much research and consultation with a number of experts considered authorities on this subject and was
purchased from the Austin Organ Company, of Hartford, Conn., through
their Southern Representatives, Allen and Welch, of Birmingham. It is
divided into five sections - great, swell, choir, echo and pedal
divisions. The echo division is placed on the first floor extreme front,
with tonal entrance through a grille in the balcony. The entire organ is
under expression.
The number of speaking stops on the instrument is
663; number of couplers 37; automatic combination pistons 48; number of
swell pedals 3; besides a crescendo pedal and one pedal which throws on
the entire resources of the organ.
The number of pipes in the organ
totals 3,130, the largest being 14 inches by 16 inches and seventeen
feet long. The smallest is seven-eighths of an inch in length and it
requires several to weigh an ounce.
Click here to view a stop list of the current 1968 Aeolian-Skinner pipe
organ
STRUCTURAL
DATA
Formal work was started in August, 1924, completed in
November, 1925.
The work has been formally executed by the trustees
of the church: Wallace B. Rogers, George Bacon and M. W. McLanrin, with
an advisory committee of the following members, each representing some
department of the church work:
John Lindsey, Sr., J. W. Bailey, J. M.
Bissell, T. B. Horton, Mrs. J. F). Parker, Miss Ruby Mulloy, D. P. Granberry, T. G. MeCalluin, W. II. Lehr, Glenn M. Goodman, Mrs. R. L.
Patrick, Mrs. V. C. Rutledge. The ministers, Rev. G. L. Tucker and the
Rev. P. W. Mcclintock, were ex-offlcio members as well.
The architect
was Rathbone DeBuys of New Orleans, La., with Frohman, Robb and Little
of Boston, Mass., consulting architects. L. W. Duffee was the
architect's local inspecton
The general contract was performed by
Underwood Contracting Corporation of New Orleans, La., with L. A. Gily,
job superintendent. Sand and gravel came from Hattiesburg, Miss. Common
brick came from Columbus, Miss. Face brick for interior of tower was
made locally by the Laurel Brick Works.
Exterior face brick is known
as "Airdale" and came
from Sumter, S. C.
Limestone trim came from
Indiana quarries.
All reinforcing and structural steel and cast iron
work was furnished by the Laurel Machine and Foundry Company.
Other
sub-contracts included the following:
Plumbing, heating, ventilating
and wiring by Electric Service Co., Laurel.
Sheet-metal work by
American Sheet Metal Work., New Orleans.
Slate roof and flagging
furnished by John D. Emack Co., Philadelphia, Pa., and installed by
Horace White of New Orleans. Composition roof by W. M. Carter of Laurel.
Structural slate and marble and mastic flooring furnished and installed
by Southern Builders Supply Co., New Orleans.
Cork floors by David E.
Kennedy Co., Inc., New York. Oak trim by Union Interior Finishing Co.,
Chicago. Steel casements by International Casements Co., Jamestown, N.
Y.
Plastering by National Plastering Co., Meridian, Miss.
Elevator
by Otis Elevator Co.
Steel stairways by Price-Evans Foundry Co.,
Chattanooga.
AH pine lumber, timber and cypress for window frames was
furnished by local mills.
Floor tile came from Wales, Great Britain.
SEPARATE CONTRACTS
In addition to the general contract, separate
contracts were awarded as follows:
All glazing by Heinigke and Smith
of New York.
Pews by American Seating Co., Chicago.
Screens by
Watson Manufacturing Co., Jamestown, N.Y.
Pipe Organ by Austin Organ
Co., Hartford, Conn
Electrical Fixtures by Kantack, Heath and Warman
of New York.
Kitchen equipment by Albert Pick and Co., Chicago.
Landscaping has been done by Fred Weiss, Laurel, to plans of Root and
Hollister, landscape architects of Chicago.
The interior decoration
and furnishings were handled by Watson and Boaler, Chicago, who were
also general consultants on all plans and materials.
The following
quantities of material used in the building might be of interest to some
66 tons of steel.
1500 cubic yards of concrete.
1680 tons of
gravel.
1013 tons of sand.
A total of 575,000 brick of which
175,000 are face brick.
3 acres of Carney cement.
9 acres of
Portland cement.
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