Photographs and thoughts on photography and camera collecting
A number of images that have nothing in common, other than that they were in Ossining and the subjects caught my attention. Above Lantern and Shadow.
Taken with a Sony RX100 MVII.
As of January 12, 2025 (when these pictures were taken) some houses in the area were still displaying Christmas decorations.
Taken with a Sony RX100 MVII.
“Neo-Gothic architecture, popular from the close of the 19th century until the mid 20th century, represented a revival of interest in the Gothic structures of England over the polychrome High Victorian Gothic variants favored over the preceding decades. These structures were less ornate and tended toward a monochrome color scheme, often utilizing rough faced stone cladding, arched windows, and prominent towers with castellated parapets. The Trinity Episcopal Church consists of two wings: a cruciform shaped 1892 main wing and an L-shaped parish hall and cloister, both of which were constructed in 1905. The overall plan of the structure forms a U shape, with a courtyard in the middle. The Church is constructed with rock faced limestone quarried in St. Lawrence County, New York and has random coursing on the stone facing, lending a rough visual appearance. The main wing contains pointed arch windows with stone surrounds and hooded lintels, with irregularly spaced window openings, and a group of wall dormers on the north and south elevations. The main wing’s most prominent feature is the three-story bell tower, which is square in configuration and contains a clock and a crenellated granite parapet. The main entryway on the parish house is also surrounded by crenellation.
The Trinity Episcopal Church is listed as a contributing structure within the Village’s National Register of Historic Places-listed Downtown Ossining Historic District. It is architecturally significant as a well-preserved example of the Gothic Revival style and is culturally significant for its association with the Second Episcopal Parish of Ossining.
Trinity Episcopal Church, constructed in 1892 and located at 7 South Highland Avenue, was built as the home for the Second Episcopal Parish of Sing Sing (now Ossining). This parish was established in 1868 by returning Civil War veterans and held its first meetings in the basement of
one of the buildings in the Barlow Block. The parish later held meetings for a time in the original First Presbyterian Church, a structure that was once located on the same site where Trinity Episcopal Church now sits. After the First Presbyterian Church moved to its present location at 34 South Highland Avenue (see entry), the Parish purchased the site and built the current structure on the property. The three story stone tower that dominates the Church’s main façade was constructed in accordance with a mandate from the Episcopal Church stating that all churches must incorporate a large tower into their design as a visual symbol of this denomination. A number of the stained glass windows in the building were obtained from Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company of New York City and from Gorham Manufacturing of Providence, Rhode
Island.
Robert W. Gibson (1851 – 1927), an immigrant from England, was the architect. He built a number of other religious, institutional, and commercial structures in New York State during his career. These include the following:
• Albany Episcopal Cathedral (Albany, NY – 1884)
• St. Michael’s Church (New York, NY – 1891)
• St. Paul’s Cathedral redesign (Buffalo, NY – 1888)
• Greenwich Savings Bank (New York, NY – 1892)
• Bank of Buffalo (Buffalo, NY – 1895)”
(Village of Ossining Significant Sites and Structures Guide, Page 200)
Taken with a Sony RX100 MVII.
The Village of Ossining can trace its beginnings to 1685, when the Sint Sinck Indians sold their land along the east side of the Hudson River to Frederick Philipse, who established a large manor. After the Revolution, the lands were confiscated from his grandson, a British loyalist, and sold to patriotic tenant farmers who had worked the land for years.
The community prospered as a port, with most of its settlement on the riverfront. On April 2, 1813, Sing Sing became the first incorporated village in Westchester County. In 1825, the village was chosen as the site of the Mount Pleasant State Prison, due to its proximity to the city (prisoners were sent “up the river”) and large quantity of white limestone. This stone became known as Sing Sing marble, and was used for buildings, walls and other products. In 1851, the State gave the prison the same name as the village: Sing Sing. The arrival of the electric chair at the prison in 1892 brought unwanted attention and in 1901, the Village changed its name to Ossining, to separate itself from the penitentiary.
The Sing Sing Marble Structures are historically significant for their use of marble quarried by convict labor at Sing Sing Prison between 1825 and 1920. Sing Sing Prison was the first correctional facility in New York State to employ prisoners as laborers for the extraction of raw materials for the purpose of revenue generation, and a number of structures of architectural, cultural, and historical significance in Ossining, New York City, and Albany, New York were built using this material. Sing Sing Marble, quarried at the Ossining prison of the same name from 1825 until approximately 1920, was utilized in the construction of many institutional, religious, and commercial structures in downstate New York and the Capitol Region. The presence of limestone and marble deposits on the Hudson River waterfront in this location was one of the main reasons for the establishment of the prison, as the prisoners would provide a built-in labor pool for both the extraction of the marble and construction of the prison itself. Once that was complete, the convicts would continue to quarry marble and the revenue generated by its sale would be used to pay back the capital costs incurred by the State of New York in constructing the prison as well as to help fund the prison’s operation. The easy access to the river afforded by this location also allowed the marble to be easily transported to the markets of New York City.
The use of prisoner-quarried marble was controversial from the start. New York area professional stonecutters saw Sing Sing Marble as an illicit attempt to undercut their livelihood, and this sentiment led to labor strikes by the stonecutters in both 1824 and 1834. The second of these came to be known as the Stonecutter’s Riot of 1834, an uprising resulting from the decision by New York University to construct its main campus buildings using marble from Sing Sing. The strike took place in Washington Square and lasted for four days, reaching a level of intensity that led the mayor of New York City to request the support of the Seventh Regiment of the New York State Militia. This eventually led to the formation of the first unions for the stonecutters. Quarrying of marble at Sing Sing Prison continued until the practice was ended in the early 1920’s by the arrival of reformist warden Lewis Lawes, who served as warden from 1920-1941.
The retaining wall in the above picture is one of a number of examples of Sing Sing Marble in the village.
Taken with a Sony RX100 MVII.
Neoclassical Revival (1890s-1930s). The Neoclassical Revival style, popular from the turn of the 20th century until World War II, represented a renewed phase of interest in the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. As was the case with the Beaux Arts style, Neoclassical Revival architecture came to prominence a result of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. This style was most often employed on monumental public and institutional buildings and was very similar in appearance to the earlier Greek Revival style popular in the United States for much of the early 19th century.
Taken with a Sony RX100 MVII.