{"id":1916,"date":"2016-05-20T14:24:12","date_gmt":"2016-05-20T19:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mindfulwalker.com\/?p=1916"},"modified":"2016-05-21T11:06:50","modified_gmt":"2016-05-21T16:06:50","slug":"sacred-sites-open-for-exploration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mindfulwalker.com\/wordpress\/explore-new-york\/sacred-sites-open-for-exploration","title":{"rendered":"Sacred Sites Open for Exploration"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York\u2019s sacred places of worship possess countless life stories and historical chapters as well as inspiring and magnificent art, architecture, and design. Jacob Riis, the social reformer and photographer whose works brought to light the suffering of the poor living in New York City tenements, was one of the early parishioners of the Church of the Resurrection<\/a>, the oldest church in Richmond Hill, Queens. In the 1990s, those restoring the fa\u00e7ade of the 1844 Gothic building of the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn<\/a> found the original oyster shell mortar and matched it. The building contains splendid Tiffany stained glass windows. In the Lower East Side, thanks to the dedicated efforts to save a structure once in decline, the Eldridge Street Synagogue<\/a>, a space that long ago provided inspiration to newly arriving Jewish immigrants arriving in America from Russia and Poland, still survives.<\/p>\n

That each of these places remains standing and vital to their communities personifies resilience and a miracle. That this weekend New Yorkers and others can see and tour various sacred places of New York City and State is a priceless opportunity. This weekend, May 20 and 21, the New York Landmarks Conservancy is holding its 6th annual Sacred Sites Open House<\/a>, during which more than 170 churches, temples, synagogues, and meeting houses in New York City and State will be open for exploring the architecture, art, history, and cultural programs of these places. In 2016, the New York Landmarks Conservancy is also marking the 30th anniversary of the group\u2019s Sacred Sites Program<\/a>, a statewide initiative to foster and support, through technical and financial assistance, preservation endeavors for these historic places.<\/p>\n

The Open House encompasses a wide variety of religious congregations, time periods, and architectural styles, from the architecture of a unique Ukrainian Catholic Church that drew from the wooden churches of the Carpathian Mountains<\/a> to structures of the Gothic Revival, Romanesque Revival, and Shingle styles. Geographically, a significant number are in New York City, yet the open house includes worship sites eastward to the tip of Long Island, upstate and westward to Niagara Falls and Buffalo, and northward to the historic village of Monroe in the state\u2019s rolling farmlands just south of the Canadian border.<\/p>\n

Resources to Plan a Visit<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Through its open house, the New York Landmarks Conservancy has several objectives. The group aims to encourage religious institutions to open their doors to visitors as a way to build support for ongoing preservation efforts; to inspire residents to appreciate the history, art, and architectural richness of worship sites right in their own backyards; and to increase public awareness of the many programs and services these spiritual institutions provide that benefit their communities and neighborhoods today.<\/p>\n

For those participating in the open house this weekend, the conservancy has posted excellent resources to plan where you can go and what you can see. The conservancy\u2019s main Open House site<\/a> is a gateway with links for a searchable database<\/a> that features locations, maps, images, styles, and special events, and to a statewide map<\/a>. Each sacred site\u2019s page has information on the days and times of availability for touring and related special activities. A separate page also outlines a number of special, pre-booked tours<\/a> in each of New York City\u2019s boroughs. More information is available through the New York Landmarks Conservancy\u2019s Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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