The Universal Preservation Hall (UPH), located at 25 Washington Street in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

is a year-round arts and community events venue. It currently seats up to 700 and has a large, open, community room. It also houses the worship space for the Universal Baptist Church, a historically African-American congregation. The building opened February 29, 2020 after being restored and re-fitted as a performance hall and rental venue. The Hall hosts a wide range of events from music to theatre, lectures, weddings, conferences, classes, and exhibits.

History

The Hall was built in 1871 as the First

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

, and designed by architects E. Boyden & Son. It is said to be one of the earliest and finest examples of

High Victorian High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Prom ...

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. I ...

anywhere in the country. Elbridge Boyden, borrowing from German and Italian Gothic Styles, contrasted the rose colored brick with light Ohio sandstone to define the pointed

Gothic arch A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown, whose two curving sides meet at a relatively sharp angle at the top of the arch. This architectural element was particularly important in Gothic architecture. The earli ...

es that frame the doors and windows. He used horizontal bands of this sandstone to unify the entire building. Inside, two walnut and ash staircases lead upstairs to the main theatre. The ceiling of this room is forty-five feet above the floor. The balcony, when in use, can seat two hundred and wraps around three sides of the auditorium. All of the supports that define the balcony and the ceiling beams feature Gothic arches that echo those in the tall, abstract,

Tiffany Tiffany may refer to: People * Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name * Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname Known mononymously as "Tiffany": * Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress kn ...

-inspired, stained-glass windows in the room. The bell tower, which is the tallest structure in Saratoga Springs, houses a 3,000 pound

Meneely The Meneely Bell Foundry was a bell foundry established in 1826 in West Troy (now Watervliet), New York, by Andrew Meneely. Two of Andrew's sons continued to operate the foundry after his death, while a third son, Clinton H. Meneely, opened a se ...

bell cast in nearby

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

. Originally constructed for the Methodist church to host their annual regional meeting, the Hall has hosted politicians and activists including

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His r ...

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he becam ...

, Senator

Edgar T. Brackett Edgar Truman Brackett (July 30, 1853 – February 27, 1924), was a lawyer, businessman, and a member of the New York State Senate. Biography Edgar Brackett was born on July 30, 1853 at Emerson's Corners (now Gurn Spring) in Wilton, New York to ...

and President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

. In 1976 the Methodists sold the building to the Universal Baptist Church, who used it until the building’s deteriorating state made it unsafe; in 2000, the building was condemned."Building History"
''At UPH'' In 1999, citizens of Saratoga Springs joined with members of the Baptist Church to rescue the Hall from collapse. They formed a partnership to rebuild it as a performance and events center, while creating a separate worship space for the Baptists within the building. The new sanctuary for the Baptist Church was completed in 2004 and services are held there every Sunday. Since the reconstruction began, the Hall has received generous donations from local individuals to kick off the reconstruction. It has also received support from The

New York Landmarks Conservancy The New York Landmarks Conservancy is a non-profit organization "dedicated to preserving, revitalizing, and reusing" historic structures in New York state. It provides technical assistance, project management services, grants, and loans, to owne ...

, the State of New York, the City of Saratoga Springs, the

Adirondack Trust Company Adirondack Trust Company is the largest independent community bank in Saratoga County, New York, USA. Adirondack Trust's 167 full-time employees own the company, which offers banking, loans and investment services, along with insurance through its ...

, The Swyer Foundation, The Universal Baptist Church, and The Saratoga Foundation. In 2006, Universal Preservation Hall was named an "Official Project" of

Save America’s Treasures Save America's Treasures is a United States federal government initiative to preserve and protect historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public–private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust fo ...

and received nearly $200,000 from the U.S. Federal Government. Spearheaded by Jeff Pfeil, Tom Lewis, and Reverend Dr. Minnie Burns, repairs began in earnest in 2003. The wooden beams, which had almost completely failed due to water damage have been replaced with new steel structure. The floor of the balcony was rebuilt. The ceiling supports in the main auditorium were reconstructed using nineteenth century techniques and tools. Over two tons of waste have been removed from the building. In 2015, the restoration effort entered into a "strategic alliance" with the Proctors Collaborative, which had rescued Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady, New York, and a further effort to upgrade the hall's lighting and sound and add an DA-compliant entrance stepped off in 2018. On February 29, 2020,

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

, with her band, performed to inaugurate the re-opening of UPH as a state-of-the-art performing arts venue.

References

External links

{{commons category, Universal Preservation Hall
Official Universal Preservation Hall website
Buildings and structures in Saratoga Springs, New York Tourist attractions in Saratoga Springs, New York Theatres in New York (state) Buildings and structures completed in 1871 1871 establishments in the United States 1871 establishments in New York (state)