BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Officials with Central Moravian Church on Main Street have applied to install new mahogany balusters on the bell tower as needed and rebuild the stone steps at the 1751 Old Chapel.
The city Historical Architectural Review Board on Wednesday unanimously approved certificates of appropriateness for the two projects.
City Council will have the final vote on the COAs.
Bethlehem Chief Building Inspector and HARB member Mike Simonson said builders would use existing wood and copper flashing where possible — making the work “as in-kind as you can get.”
Central Moravian Church made for the first congregation in Bethlehem and the oldest church of its kind in North America.
The construction of the building dates to the early 1800s — it was the largest in the state at the time — with the congregation originating in the 1740s.
“The church was the first Moravian building in Bethlehem to depart from the Germanic construction heritage and embrace federal, classical and Greek Revival elements of the American nation."Historical Architectural Review Board Historic Officer Joe Phillips
The three-story, smooth plaster church building is elevated half a story above Main Street, with brick garden walls and topped with a gable roof.
“The church was the first Moravian building in Bethlehem to depart from the Germanic construction heritage and embrace federal, classical and Greek Revival elements of the American nation,” HARB Historic Officer Joe Phillips said.
The 180-seat Old Chapel, still used for worship, small weddings and funerals, was built in 1751 when the 1741 Gemeinhaus’ Saal (community worship room) ran out of space.
It's just across the Heckewelder Place alleyway from Central Moravian.
Keen Masonry of New Tripoli, Lehigh County, will handle the $21,680 worth of work on the stone steps.
Last year, the Bethlehem Moravian settlement, along with other communities across the pond, was recognized as a World Heritage site.
