Completed Enlargement of Entryway Arch for Historic Church in Rye

Christ's Church is a gothic-style church located in the Village of Rye, New York, with its parish being one of the oldest in the United States (est. 1695). While construction of the first church began in 1706, the present day church, which is constructed with granite and brownstone and features a stained glass window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, was erected between 1854-1855.

Unfortunately, the solid brownstone front entryway arch was too narrow to fit a casket, limiting the church's ability to hold certain processionals in the sanctuary. Cuono Engineering was contracted, along with Acheson Doyle Partners Architect, to provide design services for the enlargement of the existing entryway arch and a new cast-in-place concrete stair and stoop to allow for these processionals to occur.

In order to enlarge the entryway, Cuono had to perform a detailed arch analysis to determine if the remaining portion of the brownstone arch, which was tied into the building's stone walls, had enough capacity to support the stone building walls above. As it was determined that reinforcement of the arch was required, a new curved steel arch was designed to be installed on the inside of the demolished portion of the arch to rectify the loss of load-carrying capacity.

The new arched door, fabricated and installed by Dori Doors, now serves as a vibrant and welcoming entrance for the church's parishoners, allowing ease of access in and out of the sanctuary.

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At Cuono Engineering, we make a direct contribution to a more sustainable world by improving upon the built environment and renewing our past for today's needs. From repairs and restoration to adaptive reuse, we provide a wealth of experience in the preservation of historic structures and building systems.

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