Considering the Designation of Old Shiloh

On Friday morning, members of the Historic Preservation Commission discussed the proposed designation of 241 Columbia Street as a local landmark.

When the HPC turned its attention to the proposed designation, Phil Forman, chair of the HPC, reviewed Chapter 169-4 A of the city code, the section that deals specifically with the designation of individual landmarks.

The Commission may propose or may receive a proposal for an individual property, structure, park, work of art or statue as a landmark if it:

(1) Possesses special character or historic or aesthetic interest or value as part of the architectural, cultural, political, economic, or social history of the locality, region, state, or nation; or

(2) Is identified with historic personages; or

(3) Is the work of a builder, architect, or designer whose work has significantly influenced an age.

Forman reminded the commission that only one of the three criteria was sufficient justification for designation and noted that, in the case of 241 Columbia Street, the first criterion was the one that applied.

Presenting his research into the history of the building, Paul Barrett, historian member of the HPC, called the architecture of the church "iconic for rural meeting places, particularly African American meeting places." He shared these observations, based on research in the archives of Shiloh Baptist Church and an examination of the building:

As the Shiloh Baptist congregation grew, by 1917 a sufficiently sized permanent church building was needed. Convenient, readily available materials and affordability would have been factors in the church construction. Social class and ease of construction may also have been a consideration in the design of the building which may have been by the clergyman or local laity. The Old Shiloh Baptist church was erected with a communal effort of the congregation. There may have been a hired a builder to oversee construction, but it appears the labor was volunteered by congregants.

The use of less expensive local materials (and perhaps materials from other buildings) and largely unskilled labor resulted in a rather simple and economical church design which is more in keeping with rural churches of the 19th century. . . . The degree of exterior and interior decoration often depended on the financial wherewithal of church congregations and ornamentation came later as the wealth of the congregation grew. In the case of the Old Shiloh Baptist church, decorative stained glass windows were added to the very austere exterior in the 1940s and subsequently removed.

The church with its stained glass windows in place

Barrett concluded by recommending that the building be designated a local landmark because, referencing urban renewal which "all but obliterated the neighborhood," the building "survives as the only vestige of African American history and culture in Hudson."

Chip Bohl, architect member of the HPC, commented on the architectural merit of the building, declaring, "This building's architectural historical value is its stark contrast to the towering masonry churches constructed by the white affluent Hudson community at the same time." Bohl went to say:

This contrast is an architectural manifestation of the great disparity of wealth between white and African Americans in Hudson. . . . 

The vernacular architectural style of this building is iconic in the African-American community. The building silhouette and aspirational tower can be be found throughout the United States in the form of countless rural churches. This building also has a strong visual connection to "Twin Oaks," the summer home of Frederick Douglass (built by his son Charles Douglass in 1895 in Highland Beach, Maryland), which also has an aspirational tower.     

Photo: Preservation Maryland

Also, note the similarity of simple building form and proportions of the Rosenwald Schools, built to provide public education for Southern African American communities in the early 20th century, and many later converted to Masonic Hall use. 

Photo: Karen Riles|Texas Almanac

The workmanship of the Shiloh Baptist Church speaks to a group effort and the strong community of volunteer self preservation evident in African American Hudson.

Bohl concluded by calling the former church building "an important building for Hudson, and the nation," saying it was "an architectural object that is a tangible link to the history of racial patterns in our country." As did Barrett, Bohl recommended the building for landmark designation.

Bohl also responded to several of the objections to designation raised by the building's owner, Victoria Milne, among them that review by historic preservation commissions increases renovation costs. He called it a "decades old canard" and asserted, "Attendance at any Historic Preservation Commission meeting will illustrate the commission's concern for undue property owner expense."

When invited to comment, Milne focused on Bohl's assertion that concern for cost was an "old canard." She claimed to have documentation that windows proposed to the HPC had been rejected, and the windows the applicant was "forced to use" by the HPC increased the cost from $600 to $2,600. She told the commission she "does a blog warning people not to buy a designated building." 

Forman told her, "If you want to sway us, you need to sway us on the question of whether or not this building tells an important story. Financial hardship is a separate thing."

Milne and her attorney, Kristal Heinz, both repeated their objections about the way the process of designating the building was initiated back in February--with an impassioned sense of dire emergency based on the false belief that the building was in imminent danger of being demolished. Milne reiterated that no one had reached out to her to find out if the threat of imminent demolition real even though "the City has had no trouble finding me for taxes and for fines." Referring to the incomplete application for designation that had been submitted, she told the HPC, "You have greeted me with sloppy paperwork and sloppy government," and claimed the message sent was: "Get out of here, newbie. We're going to screw you." His patience fraying a tad, Forman asked, "Do you think I'm leading some bloody conspiracy against newbies?" Milne replied, "That's exactly the effect."

Three of the commissioners--Miranda Barry, Philip Schwartz, and John Schobel--expressed regret that communication with Milne had not been handled differently but also expressed the opinion that the building merited designation. No vote was taken on the designation at Friday's meeting. Instead, the meeting ended with the commission going into an attorney-client session to seek advice from the HPC's counsel, Victoria Polidoro. The next meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission is scheduled to take place on Friday, July 24, at 10:00 a.m.
COPYRIGHT 2020 CAROLE OSTERINK