The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-08-17
FIX OvERACHURCH
First Presbyterian viii Spend
$1,000 in Repairs.
New Audience Room Will Face
the West.
WILL BE MADELARGER
Seating Capacity to Be 1900 In
stead Of 900.
May Put Galleries in Sunday
School Room.
WILL BE MADELARGER

Improvements to cost over $1,000 are
being planned for the interior of the
First Presbyterian church building,
which if carried out. will cause radi-
cal Encouragement and enhancement Of
the present conditions.
The prospective additions and changes
are as follows:
Removal of the pulpit from north to
west side.
Erection of new $4,000 organ on west
aide.
Building of galleries on east and
south sides.
now stands.
Installation of s.. 900 boiler and extra
radiation.
Building of galleries on south. west
and north sides of Sunday school room.
Conversion of the basement into
kitchen, dining room and lavatory.
Estimates by contractors are now be-
ing made up. A working committee,
having in mind these improvements, was
appointed some time ago to see what
could be done When Mrs. Jane Stor-
mont last week surprised the church
with a direct gift of 81 900 for new
organ the committee found itself more
free to draw upon the members for the
Improvement fund alone. where other
wise they would have had to content
themselves with smaller share of the
expected contributions, inasmuch as
portion would have had to be devoted
for the organ which the congregation
voted some time ago to buy. The church
is absolutely free from debt. For some
time it has been realized that the seat
ing capacity is too small. The audience
room of the church contains seats for 800
persons. Frequently the doors OF the
lecture or Sunday school room have to
be opened and chairs placed therein to
accommodate the worshippers. Accord
ing to the new plan more than 1000 peo-
pie can be seated in the audience room
alone.
The scheme which is now being fgur-
ed on is to change the pulpit from the
north to the west side. just where the
present partition between the audience
and Sunday school rooms is located. 1t
is planned to put the organ back of the
pulpit and build the choir loft between
the two. If that is done, all of the seats
now facing the northwest, will be
changed around due west. The choir
loft now running the full length of the
north side is to be torn out and benches
to extend along the east and south
walls. Their width will naturally de-
termine their seating capacity.
The Sunday school room may have
galleries on three sides, the south, west
and north. These are to be partitioned
off every ten or fifteen feet SO that they
can be used for class rooms. The
basement beneath the Sunday school
room Is TO De nIIeQ up IOr a OlnlnS
room and a kitchen. A number of class
rooms are also to be constructed there
A new $1,000 boiler has already been
ordered and additional radiation will be
put in. For several years past the
present heating plant has been made
quate to the demand upon it and
change is absolutely necessary.
We have called for estimates on this
work" said Treasurer Albert Watkins
this morning. 'Of course none of it is
definitely decided upon. That we will
have to make some changes goes with
out saying. The institution of the new
organ makes the time a proper one to
make whatever reconstruction is con-
tenplated. The church will naturally
be torn up for some time while the or
gan is being built, and the committee
having the contemplated Improvements
in hand, think it a good time to get
busy now. No grass will grow under
the feet of the committee from now on.
I suppose the total cost of the work will
go over $1,000. We are entirely out
of debt now and have no membranes.
The presentation of the 81, 900 for the
organ takes that load off our shoulders
and leaves us free to go ahead. The
only request which Mrs Stormont made
was that we should not delay putting
UP the instrument as quickly as posi-
BILE. Our organ committee and our i'm
provement committee are both hard at
work and will reach some definite con-
clusion pretty quickly, or just as soon
as the estimates are given u.s.