St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Fairport, N.Y.)

St. Luke's Church (incorporated 1887) is an Episcopal parish located in Fairport, New York (near Rochester, New York).

In the early 1960s, having outgrown their Perinton church building, the parish purchased a sixteen acre tract on Ayrault Road (later known as the Brambleridge East subdivision) in Fairport, New York. Under the auspices of rector Dustin Ordway, fund raising for a new building commenced and a Building Committee was formed. According to local press announcements at the time, "the membership of St. Luke's wanted something special . . . something more than 'contemporary ecclesiastical'" ( The Brighton-Pittsford Post, 28 Jan 1965). The search for an architect was wide-ranging, targeting leading firms in Rochester and elsewhere, with the ultimate selection going to the large, international firm Marcel Breuer and Associates.

The selection of a world-renowned architect was greeted with much fanfare and occassioned the launch of a publicity campaign, ultimately featuring the model and presentation drawings produced by the Breuer firm. The resulting design, credited to Marcel Breuer and Herbert Beckhard, reflected "Breuer's mastaba building type, a low compact structure with a flat roof and canted sides" (Hyman, Marcel Breuer, Architect . p. 226). Detailed construction specifications were issued, to facilitate the initial bid process, but ultimately the collaboration with Breuer was postponed in April of 1966 due to difficulties with funding.

In May of 1966, St. Luke's entered into a formal arrangement with the firm of Roy D. Murphy and Associates to produce a long range development plan for the property that might eventually include the original Breuer church design. In 1968, a small church structure was completed by Creative Buildings Inc., a firm with a specialization in church construction. The Breuer design was never realized.

In addition to Chairman Thomas Nesbit, other members of the Commitee included: Raymond Beach, Mrs. Avery Beer, Robert Butterfield, Mrs. Henry Martin, Ernest Swart and Romine Foster, among others. ( Fairport Herald Mail, 3 Feb 1965)

From the guide to the St. Luke's Church Building Committee Records, 1965-1968, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)