File:Christian Education Building, First Presbyterian Church, Westfield, New York - 20230107.jpg

English: The Christian Education Building at the rear of First Presbyterian Church in Westfield, New York, as seen in January 2023. A 1963 work of the Buffalo-based architectural practice of Shelgren, Whitman & Patterson, the elegant Colonial Revival style seen here is one that the firm had earlier employed widely in its designs, but by now had largely abandoned in favor of sleek Modernism. However - perhaps in an effort to better harmonize their addition with the iconic and monumental original portion of the church - here they employ an aesthetic that is conservative and traditionalist even by the standards of their earlier work. Note the regular spacing and small panes of the windows, the elegant sconces and leaded glass tympanum framing the entrance, the stark color contrast between the red brick that comprises the majority of the exterior and the light-colored stone trim of the belt course and door surrounds, and above all, Classically-influenced decorative elements such as the modestly projecting pilaster strips that delineate columns of windows, the unassuming but handsome cornice at the roofline, and the row of decorative masonry work that undergirds the cornice, approximating the appearance of dentils. The realization of this addition was a three-year process that began in June 1960, when the church's Building Committee presented to the congregation for its approval a proposal for a $238,000 construction campaign which would entail the demolition of the existing south wing of the church - a lovely yet too-small, steeple-crowned structure that was original to the building and housed existing classroom space as well as the pastor's study - and its replacement with a three-story modern school. Aided by the Rev. John Reed, a travelling minister who specialized in the undertaking of fundraising campaigns for churches, the proposal met with the congregation's approval, and thus the planning process began in earnest. The congregation took out a mortgage on the property in July 1961 to finance additional construction expenses, demolition of the existing structure was done slowly and carefully throughout the first half of 1962 so as to preserve the priceless stained-glass windows and other interior elements many of which would be reused in the new structure, and dedication ceremonies were held the following June.