Historic Pelham

Presenting the rich history of Pelham, NY in Westchester County: current historical research, descriptions of how to research Pelham history online and genealogy discussions of Pelham families.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Putting the Finishing Touches on the Lovely New Church in Pelhamwood in 1923


The Community Church of the Pelhams is located at 448 Washington Avenue in a lovely part of the neighborhood known as Pelhamwood.  Originally part of the Congregational Christian Churches, it is now part of The United Church of Christ that was created in 1957 when the Congregational Christian Churches merged with the Evangelical and Reformed Churches.  

Today's Historic Pelham Blog posting transcribes an article from the October 19, 1923 issue of The Pelham Sun that describes efforts to complete the lovely church structure that the neighborhood rallied to build to serve the new neighborhood of Pelhamwood during the 1920s.  The article provides a fascinating glimpse of the pride that the entire community took in the completion of the facility.

I have written extensively about the neighborhood of Pelhamwood on many occasions.  For those who may be interested in learning more about the neighborhood still served by this beautiful church, see the linked list of articles at the end of this posting.  

"CHURCH BUILDING TO BE COMPLETED BEFORE YEAR ENDS
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Congregational Church Will Open Lower Hall Next Week -- Splendid Equipment
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Only  $10,000 Needed to Complete Edifice Which Will Be Ornament to District
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An active campaign to raise the rest of money needed to complete the new Congregational Church in Pelhamwood is expected to resut [sic] in the completion of the building this winter.  The lower hall of the edifice will be officially opened next Friday [Oct. 26, 1923] and will be a worthy addition to Pelham's meeting places.  

The hall has a fine new stage and curtain.  This curtain is being put in by Wanamaker.  

The hall is over 10 feet long and 50 feet wide, with a polished maple floor.  

An indoor tennis court, a basketball, volley-ball and handball court will be laid out.  As the ceiling is 16 feet high and there is not a post or obstruction of any kind, there will be a splendid chance for these games for the young people of the Pelhams.  

A fine outdoor tennis court on the church land has recently been completed and the boys and girls of the Sunday school and church are now enjoying it.  

A motion picture machine will be installed in the lower hall in the very near future.  

This hall will make a great place for mass meetings and banquets.  

Pelhamwood is proud of this hall and many congratulations are pouring in. 

It is expected that the whole church edifice will be completed this year, as soon as the Congregational Church Building and Extension Societies pay in their promised aid.  Meanwhile the Building Committee has gone ahead as money has been contributed from many sources in Pelham and elsewhere.  Only about $10,000 is needed, besides what has been promised to finish this beautiful $100,000 church plant, so ideally situated in the center of the Pelhams at the corner of Washington and Highbrook Avenue."

Source:  Church Building To Be Completed Before Year Ends, The Pelham Sun, Oct. 19, 1923, pg. 1, col. 3.  

Pelhamwood

In 1909, Clifford B. Harmon & Co. bought from the Winyah Park Realty Company a one-hundred acre tract of land just north of the Pelham train station. The company began development of a lovely residential neighborhood that it named "Pelhamwood".

Periodically I have written about Clifford B. Harmon and Pelhamwood. For a number of such examples, see:










Bell, Blake A., The Early Development of Pelhamwood, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 37, Sep. 17, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

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posted by Blake A. Bell @ 1:32 PM 0 comments