TRINITY CHURCH IN 1816
TRINITY S Big Dig In May 2009, Trinity Church began to prepare for an exciting construction project that provided a much-needed elevator to a renovated undercroft, a beautiful columbarium, and several other upgrades to its facilities. The scope of the project prompted comparisons to a much larger endeavor that took place in 1961, when Trinity embarked upon additions to the building and preparations for an undercroft. Perhaps it would be helpful to review a little of Trinity s history. Unlike her sister churches on the New Haven Green, Trinity has seen many changes over the years. In the 1870s a new stone tower took the place of the original wooden structure that had deteriorated badly, a slate roof replaced the original wooden shingles, and stained glass windows supplanted the original clear panes set in diamond patterns. The mid-1880s saw the addition of a new chancel to the geographical west end of the building, showing the influence of the Oxford Movement that had begun in mid-nineteenth century England, and which sought to reemphasize some sacramental practices associated with the Roman Catholic tradition. In the first decade of the twentieth century, the interior of the building was extensively remodeled, including a breathtakingly beautiful altar and the stone reredos that forms its backdrop. A new organ, divided between the chancel and the nave, enabled more effective accompaniment of the Choir of Men and Boys, instituted when the chancel had been built twenty years earlier. Although the earth beneath the nave had been partially excavated in the latenineteenth century to retrofit a coal-burning furnace and a low passageway between the east and west ends of the building, the present undercroft as we know it did not exist. Remember that up until the mid-1970s Trinity owned a series of parish houses; the church building was used almost exclusively for worship services. On July 6, 1944, a disastrous circus tent fire in Hartford took the lives of 168 people. One of the consequences of that tragedy was an enhanced awareness of safety in public buildings. The state s fire marshal began a campaign to assure adequate fire egress in public venues, especially those having balconies with limited access. Assembly halls all over the state were required to comply with the new fire codes; those having balconies were compelled to make modifications to permit alternate methods of egress as a precondition to continuing to use them for seating. Yale s Woolsey Hall, for example, was fitted with new fire stairways that permitted people to escape from its two balconies without passing through the main floor exits.
Trinity Church was no exception. The 1906 organ had been placed squarely in the center of the rear gallery, cutting off direct passage between the north and south galleries. In order to continue to use them, Trinity had to provide both galleries with alternate means of egress at the west end of the building. Discussions about a major construction project began in 1947, but it was not until 1958 that the parish was ready to move ahead. Douglas Orr (1892-1966), one of New Haven s finest architects, designed the pair of wings that flank the chancel, providing a sacristy, clergy vesting rooms, and office space, as well as the requisite gallery egress. The native stone used to cover these additions was salvaged from a house being demolished across the street from Trinity s parish house at the corner of Church and Wall Streets. The house had been constructed about the same time as the church, using stone taken from the same quarry, and thus the new additions matched the church s walls perfectly. But that was not all. The space beneath the nave was further excavated to provide eventually for a new undercroft, intended for small gatherings and receptions, thereby eliminating the need to travel to the parish house for these functions. Since extensive excavation would be required, it was decided that the floor of the church should be removed to make this easier. When the new floor was installed, it was provided with a radiant heating system using hot water flowing through pipes embedded in the concrete. The new system eliminated the brass grates that had been the bane of brides marching down runners in the center aisle. Two large boilers were provided under the east end of the building, and while these have since been replaced with modern and more efficient units, this clean, draft free, gentle and totally silent heating system is the one Trinity Church enjoys today. Construction began in earnest in June of 1961 and continued until March of the following year. Trinity held its services in alternate facilities, including Center Church, United Church, and the auditorium of the parish house. It was an immense halfmillion dollar project that changed the building both inside and out, but which provided much-needed usable space as well as the requisite emergency egress required by the state fire marshal. Fortunately for us, an unknown photographer documented much of the project in a series of sixty-six black-and-white photographs, each dated and mounted in an album kept in the church. While many of these photos were taken under less than ideal conditions, they have been digitally transcribed and enhanced with Photoshop software. Several of these have been selected for inclusion in this short essay. We owe a debt of gratitude to the anonymous person who had the foresight to photodocument Trinity s Big Dig!
REMOVING THE PEWS NOTE THE TWO WEST WINDOWS ON EITHER SIDE, SINCE COVERED OVER JUNE 28, 1961 NOTE THE ARCHED DOORWAYS UNDER THE ORGAN JULY 10, 1961
THE I-BEAMS WERE USED TO SUPPORT THE COLUMNS JULY 10, 1961 PREPARING FOR THE SOUTH WING S FOUNDATION NOTE THE DOORWAY AND CHOIR ROOM WINDOW JULY 10, 1961
JULY 17, 1961
FOUNDATIONS are laid FOR THE NORTH WING All of THE WINDOWS WERE COVERED BY THE ADDITIONS JULY 17, 1961
WORKERS PREPARE FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE FLOOR JULY 17, 1961 TRINITY WORSHIPS AT UNITED CHURCH JULY 23, 1961
CHOIR LOFT OF UNITED CHURCH JULY 23, 1961 PREPARING TO BUILD THE NORTH WING NOTE THE SALVAGED STONES IN FOREGROUND JULY 26, 1961
The METHOD OF SUPPORTING THE COLUMNS JULY 26, 1961 The REREDOS AND ORGAN CONSOLE are COVERED IN PLASTIC PERHAPS ONE OF THE LAST PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE NORTH SIDE WINDOW JULY 26, 1961
The NAVE FLOOR has been REMOVED FOR EXCAVATION THE NAVE ORGAN IS VISIBLE AT THE TOP OF THE PHOTOGRAPH AUGUST 8, 1961 THE EXCAVATION HAS BEGUN PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN FROM NORTH GALLERY AUGUST 16, 1961
LOOKING WEST DURING EXCAVATION CHOIR STALLS REMAIN IN THE CHANCEL AUGUST 16, 1961
NOTE the METHOD OF SUPPORTING the NAVE COLUMNS AUGUST 16, 1961 TRINITY WORSHIPS AT CENTER CHURCH AUGUST 27, 1961
THE ORGAN LOFT AT CENTER CHURCH AUGUST 27, 1961 THE NORTH WING BEGINS TO RISE SEPTEMBER 5, 1961
A STONEMASON AT WORK ON THE SOUTH WING SEPTEMBER 5, 1961 LOOKING SOUTHWEST FROM THE UNDERCROFT SEPTEMBER 5, 1961
BUILDING THE SOUTH WING SEPTEMBER 22, 1961
THE SOUTH WING RISES SEPTEMBER 22, 1961
STONEMASONS WORKING ON THE NORTH WING SEPTEMBER 22, 1961
THE REV. LAWSON WILLARD GIVES COMMUNION IN THE PARISH HOUSE AUDITORIUM OCTOBER 1, 1961 THE NEW NAVE FLOOR UNDERWAY OCTOBER 3, 1961
BUILDING THE SOUTH WING OCTOBER 3, 1961
NAVE FLOOR NEARING COMPLETION THE old ARCHED DOORWAYS ARE STILL IN PLACE OCTOBER 17, 1961 RADIANT HEATING PIPES IN PLACE NOVEMBER 16, 1961
THE PRESENT BOILER ROOM UNDER CONSTRUCTION NOVEMBER 16, 1961 TWO NEW BOILERS BEING INSTALLED NOVEMBER 16, 1961
THE NORTH WING NEARS COMPLETION NOVEMBER 16, 1961 STONEMASONS CUTTING a DOORWAY BETWEEN the CHANCEL AND SOUTH WING NOVEMBER 16, 1961
NEW DOORWAYS INTO THE NORTH WING JANUARY 4, 1962
NORTHWEST CORNER OF NAVE JANUARY 4, 1962 PREPARING FOR THE RETURN OF THE PEWS JANUARY 29, 1962
THE PEWS ARE BACK IN PLACE MARCH 1, 1962 According to parishioner Ed Getlein s fascinating history of Trinity Church titled Here Will I Dwell, published in 1976, Trinity celebrated the completion of the remodeling with a service of Dedication of the Renovation of the Church and Festival Morning Prayer on April 15, 1962. For eight more years the undercroft remained excavated but not installed. In 1970 the vestry voted to finish the job and complete the undercroft as planned. Text by Joe Dzeda May 13, 2009