An Organ Recital

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Last weekend I went to an organ recital at the Briarcliff Manor Congregational Church. I’ve been to some local events in the past and was not always impressed by the performances. I will not quickly forget a performance of Hande’s Messiah. The singers were whoever showed up and wanted to sing. I read that the orchestra was anyone who wanted to play. No auditions necessary.

But this was very different. The two performers clearly knew what they were doing and delivered an excellent performance. The organ is an amazing instrument, but it looks exceedingly difficult to play.

I really enjoyed it.

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Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 75mm f1.8 FE

A Walk to Crawbuckie Preserve and Back – Preparing for Christmas

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It used to be that preparations for Christmas started after Thanksgiving (which is at the time of writing tomorrow, November 28). This picture was taken November 17, eleven days before Thanksgiving. It seems to get earlier every year.

And that was about it for my photowalk. I still had to walk for another 30 minutes before I would get home, walking along rather boring side streets where I didn’t expect to take any more pictures. And it was perhaps the hardest part physically. My house is on top of a hill, so I almost always have to walk up this rather steep incline at the end of my walks – just when I’m the most tired and sore.

Still, as this series of posts suggests I made it. I also thoroughly enjoyed the walk.

Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.

A Walk to Crawbuckie Preserve and Back – Two churches in Ossining

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Ossining has a number of churches. These are two of them. The following descriptions are from the Ossining Significant Sites & Structures Guide.

On the left is the First Baptist Church:

Date of Construction: 1871- 1874

Architectural Style: High Victorian Gothic (1860s-1890s)

High Victorian Gothic architecture, which evolved from the older Gothic Revival style, differs from that style in its use of contrasting polychromatic bands on the exterior wall surfaces and more elaborate decorative elements. This style was usually reserved for public buildings such as schools or churches. As it is related to the Gothic Revival style, structures in this style also contain such elements as steeply pitched rooflines, elaborate ornamentation, and a predominantly vertical orientation.

The First Baptist Church consists of two sections: a rectangular main section and a smaller, perpendicular northern section. The main section’s 100 foot tall spire, which is surrounded by 16 pinnacles, was added in 1894. Older photographs show that the building originally had an
ornamental roof cresting that was subsequently removed at an unknown date. The structure is capped with a gray slate gable roof with four gabled dormers. Each contains a large pointed arch window and elaborate decorative exterior woodwork around the gables. The pointed arch-shaped double front doors at the main entryway facing Church Street are surrounded with polychrome brick trim and a decorative fanlight above the door. Eight stained glass windows located around the perimeter of the structure illustrate scenes from the Bible. The church is constructed with brick and limestone.

Significance: Architectural and Cultural

The First Baptist Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as architecturally significant for its status as the best example of High Victorian Gothic architecture in the Village. Other examples include the First Presbyterian Church. The nomination took place prior to the 1989 designation of the Downtown Ossining Historic District in which the Church is located and listed as a contributing structure. The Church is also culturally significant for its association with its founder, Captain Elijah Hunter (1749-1815), a Sing Sing-based landowner and businessman who later served as the first Supervisor for the Town of Mount Pleasant prior to the formal incorporation of Sing Sing Village in 1813; the Sing Sing Baptist Congregation, founded in 1786; and for its overall role in the cultural life of the Village since its construction in 1874.

Narrative:

The First Baptist Church, completed in 1874, is actually the second structure to occupy the site at 1 Church St; the first was constructed in the early 19th Century to house the Sing Sing Baptist Congregation. This congregation was founded in April of 1786 by Captain Elijah Hunter, a Revolutionary War spy who was the founder of the hamlet Hunter’s Landing, an early waterfront settlement located near the current-day train station which grew to later become part of Sing Sing Village. Hunter chose a triangular-shaped site at the center of the Village near the convergence of the Albany Post Road (known today as Highland Avenue or Route 9), Croton Avenue, and Main Street in order to maximize its visibility and emphasize its central importance to Ossining’s religious life. The original First Baptist Church was a place where blacks and whites would worship side by side in a setting that permitted a degree of equality that did not exist elsewhere, a tradition that continued with the construction of the current structure. The original church building was demolished once the size of the congregation grew too large and the present structure was built on the same site. The church was designed by J. Walsh, a Brooklyn-based architect, and was built for a cost of $75,000 in 1874 dollars.

On the right, the First Presbyterian Church.

Date of Construction: 1870

Architectural Style: High Victorian Gothic (1860s-1890s)

The First Presbyterian Church is two stories in height with rectangular massing. The front façade is dominated by two front towers on either side of the main entryway. Typical of the High Victorian Gothic style, the church makes use of the polychrome theme with the contrasting brick colors on window sills, lintels, surrounds, buttress caps, and surrounding the main entrance. The gothic pointed arch motif is used for window openings and entryways. The gabled main entrance, which faces South Highland Avenue, is surrounded with elaborate limestone work. The church originally was constructed with a tall steeple on the southeast tower that was subsequently removed in the 1950s when the building was renovated and modernized. The church is constructed with brick and limestone.

Significance: Architectural and Cultural

The First Presbyterian Church is National Register-listed as a contributing structure within the Downtown Ossining Historic District. It is architecturally significant as a well preserved example of High Victorian Gothic architecture within Ossining. Other structures of this style include the First Baptist Church. This structure is also culturally significant as the home of the First Presbyterian Congregation of Ossining.

Narrative:

The First Presbyterian Congregation was formed in 1763 and originally occupied a site located in what is now Sparta Cemetery on land donated by Frederick Phillipse, owner of the vast Phillipse Estate that stretched from modern-day Kingsbridge, Bronx to the Croton River. The original building was damaged during the Revolutionary War, prompting the congregation to build a new structure in the village of Sing Sing on the site of the current Trinity Episcopal Church at 7 South Highland Avenue in 1803. As the congregation grew, this church was expanded until it was no longer adequate to house all those who wished to worship there. The present church was constructed from 1868 to 1870 for a cost of approximately $95,000 by contractor Peter H. Terhune of Binghamton, NY and designed by architect Isaac Gale Perry. Perry was later
appointed as the State Architect for the State of New York and designed the final phase of the New York State Capitol in Albany from 1883 to 1899 as well as the New York State Armory in Poughkeepsie in 1891.

Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.

A Walk to Crawbuckie Preserve and Back – A Bookstore

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By this time my feet were really bothering me. Luckily my favorite local bookstore was within easy walking distance, and I could sit comfortably in an armchair or a sofa and read for a while until my feet had recovered enough for me to continue on home.

It’s called Hudson Valley Books for Humanity, and I’ve posted about it before (See: A Walk through Ossining – A Bookstore).

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Needless to say, I ended up buying a photography book: Jacques Henri Lartigue. The Invention of an Artist. This is a small, local bookstore and it doesn’t have a large collection of photography-related books. I had just watched a YouTube video where Lartigue was mentioned. At the time I remember thinking that I didn’t have any books on Lartigue and that I should get one. Coincidentally, I unexpectedly bumped into this one. This is the second time this has happened to me with this bookstore.

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Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.

A Walk to Crawbuckie Preserve and Back – Sing Sing Kill Greenway

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Ossining’s Sing Sing Kill Greenway is a concrete walkway opened in 2016 that runs down the Sing Sing Kill gorge. It’s a unique experience walking down the gorge with steep hills on either side of you and the brook beneath you. You’re practically in the middle of Ossining’s Old Village, but in a different world.The “main” entrance is adjacent to the lower parking lot at the Ossining Community Center at 95 Broadway. The walkway runs about 1/3 of a mile down the gorge and ends up on Central Ave. If you parked at the community center then at that point you either turn around and go back up the gorge, or you can take the longer route up to Main St, take a left onto the Croton Aqueduct Trailway then head back down to the Community Center.

InOssining describes has a piece on the Greenway.

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Taken with a Sony RX10 IV.