Archaeology Magazine - December 1950 - 38

Church Street boasts
Choir but it was to retwo other eighteenth
main theirs for only
four years, because the
century
buildings
which, however, are not
rapid growth of this
choir led the authoripart of the group on
ties to plan a larger
the north side of the
home for it. In the
street. The older of
the
these
is the stone strucSingle
year 1748
took
Sisters' Choir
ture erected, in the year
possession of the house and
1748 as the new and
it remained their home.
larger house of the SinBut the Sisters' Choir
gle Brethren's Choir
also grew in numbers,
(Figure 9). Built on
so that by the year 1752
the dimensions of 80' x
the structure had to be
50', it rose three full
annex
an
stories and had in addienlarged by
which was built and extion a dormitory on a
tended northwards to
fourth floor and above
meet the east wing of
the latter an attic under
the Bell House, thus
a gambrel roof . Crowncompleting the square.
ing the structure is a
Here, as in the case of
belvedere surrounded
the Old Chapel, weakby a balustrade, from
ness of the foundation
which the trombone
rock prompted the machoir of the community
sons to erect two strip
used to play chorales to
buttresses against the
herald
special events
west wall. This annex
in
a
minor strain,
and,
contained a dining hall
to
the death
announce
on the ground floor, a
of the
of
a
member
chapel for the Choir's
is
custom
This
Church.
own use on the second
Widows'
10.
Bethlehem,
(Above)
Pennsylvania.
the
Fig.
still observed by
floor, and a dormitory
House. Note the similarity of this building to the east
trombone choir, but toon the third. Within a
wing of the Sisters' House.
score of years, however,
day the musicians play
the belfry of the
from
the Sisters agitated for
Fig. 11. (Below) Buildings of the Moravian settlement
Moravian
Central
additional space and
at Neuwied-am-Rhein. These were the prototype of the
a large structure adChurch. During the
Moravian buildings in Bethlehem. Note how similar
the facade is to that of the first unit of the Sisters'
Revolutionary War this
joining the original enBrethren's House was
House complex, Figure 7.
larged one was erected
to the east and comtwice used as a hospital
pleted in the year 1773 (Figure 8). Though con- for the Continental Army. On the second occasion in
forming in general style to the two former sections, this the year 1777, the Single Brethren had to vacate the
last is an entirely new building and, unlike them, has building entirely and during the six months of this
a full basement and higher floor levels. The basement occupancy hundreds of soldiers died of wounds and
was used for the various tasks connected with the fever. After the turn of the nineteenth century the
household, the first and second floors were divided Single Brethren's Choir declined rapidly and in the
into large rooms where the sisters practiced their hand
year 1814 the building was radically altered to serve
as a boarding school for girls. Both interior and exfloor
and
music.
The
third
contained
work, painting,
the Schlafzimmer "sleeping-hall." Today this house, terior were modernized. The exterior stone walls,
too, is an apartment house for women of the Church. which had resembled those of the buildings in the Bell
230

ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeology Magazine - December 1950

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - December 1950