St. David Parish Photo Gallery

St. David Church Architect Model Renovation

This is the architect's model of St. David Church that was presented to the parishioners in 1951. It was built by the architectural firm of Thomas H. Moran of Princeton, NJ to represent the proposed new Church which was to replace the old wooden church and, is the same model that is pictured in the framed newspaper article which was donated by Bud and Sandra DeLaurentis.

The model was found in the attic of a home of a former parishioner by the family who had purchased the home. Though they were not members of St. David Parish, they recognized that the model was of our Church. They brought it to the Rectory and gave it to Fr. Connors.

The model, as it was found, was in deteriorated condition which can be seen in the photographs in the beginning of this album and many of its features were either broken or missing. A mouse had also taken up residence in the chapel part of the church and had gnawed parts of the base. Though it would have been easier to restore the model with newer and more modern model materials, it was decided to follow the advice of Frank Calter who is an architect and member of St. David Parish, which was to restore it as close as possible to the original model.

Since there was only one photo of the model available, the one in the newspaper article, it was sometimes difficult to replace the missing pieces. The confessionals and the chimney were missing and were not visible in the photograph. They were replaced by following the lines on the wall where the paint was missing, the shape of the foundation, and by using photos of our current church. The replacements can be seen in the photos as the new, lighter colored, unpainted wood in the photographs. Only one of the "rose" windows, the front window, was found and it can be seen in the photograph on the right side. Since the window was made by hand, it would be difficult to replace, and in the finished model, both were replaced with windows that were redesigned and machined using a computer.

The landscape material was restored using green floral foam and model railroad "grass mat", two materials commonly found at the time the model was built which are still available today. The contour and shape of the landscape was a "best guess" based on the foundation of the church and the photograph.

Since the original model was not designed for long-term display, some concessions to modern materials were made and were done to make the model safer and more convenient to display. In the photographs of the original model, it can be seen that electrical wiring is somewhat dangerous and used "Christmas tree bulbs" and standard house wiring. Changing the bulbs would require disassembling the model which would increase the risk of damage and the bulbs themselves would generate heat which could also damage the model. Art Marlin, a parish member, designed an elaborate LED lighting circuit which is protected by a fuse, will last many years, and does not require disassembling the model for periodic lighting maintenance. The results were better than anticipated and the lights now illuminate each window and cast reflections of the windows on the landscape. The other concession was the replacement of the window "glass" which was originally red and blue cellophane. It has been replaced with more durable acetate plastic.

As Msgr. Bolger first noticed, there are differences in the architect's model and the finished church. Some are obvious such as the missing windows, doors, and steps on the Rectory side of the church and some are more subtle such as the number of stained glass windows above the confessionals on the Convent side of the church.

The Groundbreaking ceremony for the new church was held on July 22, 1951 and the cornerstone was placed in May of 1953. The church was dedicated on October 4, 1953 by Archbishop John F. O'Hara who later became Archbishop O'Hara.

Thanks to everyone who was involved in this project. The restoration of the model represents part of the history of St David Parish. It preserves for us, the aspirations and dedication of the priests, sisters and parishioners whose desire was to have a better church for the future generations. It serves as a reminder of the strong faith of a generation that made our current church and parish community possible.

Arthur L. Klotz

back to Gallery Home