Project Spotlight: First Congregational Church of Claridon

September 25, 2024 // Recognition, Historic

The First Congregational Church of Claridon, located in Huntsburg, Ohio, has been an active congregation since 1827. The existing church was built in 1831 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On June 10, 2021, the main worship space experienced a catastrophic ceiling collapse when the wood ceiling gave way and fell to the sanctuary floor, damaging parts of the sanctuary.

Perspectus was retained with Process Creative Studios in February 2022 to first conduct a master plan study for the church facility. The team guided the congregation through a design process to illustrate how to address the pragmatic current and anticipated needs of the church.

Following master planning, the team proceeded with designing the renovation of the original sanctuary space. The design focused on showcasing the uniqueness of the existing building while also introducing new elements to revive the space for modern use. Through research of 1936 HABS/WPA (Historic American Buildings Survey/Works Progress Administration) drawings and on-site investigations, the original curved wood trusses were found to have formed a plaster coved ceiling. The acoustics of the space were improved by restoring the coved plaster ceiling, a historic design element. The once “heavy” space, weighted down by the dark wood ceiling and dark red carpet, was lightened with the introduction of an underlit suspended wood ceiling cloud, a lighter paint palette, and new natural-toned flooring.

To read more about this renovation, see page 68 of Properties Magazines July issue here: https://issuu.com/mrej/docs/propertiesweb-july24-?fr=sNmQxMTc1NTMzNzc