15 Bloomingdale Avenue, 2009 
Bloomingdale Avenue from Mt. Pisgah, 1902. The Baptist Church is at left. Directly across Bloomingdale Avenue is the Grand Union Hotel. To the right, about the center of the photograph is the Leis Block, before its front was extended, or its cure porches added. At bottom right is the mill of Branch and Callanan. Address: 30 Bloomingdale Avenue
Old Address: 13/15 Bloomingdale Avenue
Other names: Saranac Lake Baptist Church, Knights of Columbus Hall, K of C Roller Rink, St. Bernard's (Shirley's) thrift shop, Greens 'n' Beans, Piece by Piece quilt shop.
Year built: c. 1898. 1 In 1895, the site was occupied by the "Baptist Tent Church".2
Other information: By 1916, it was no longer being used as the Baptist Church; it was being used by an auto supplies company.3 By 1924, it was being used for auto sales,(John A. Gallaway Chevrolet) 4 and by 1931 it was being used by the Knights of Columbus.5
Today the Saranac Lake Baptist Church is located at 490 Broadway. Pastor Harold Clark and his wife Sue spoke about this new Baptist Church for an interview in the Enterprise on November 11, 2009: "The Saranac Lake Baptist Church had been started in 1968 by Pastor Thom Duncan of the First Christian Church of Brushton, our home church. The pastor before us left in September after just three months here, so there was a need." When the Clarks arrived in Saranac Lake, the church was meeting in a trailer at the current site. "We lived in the house on Olive Street which had been bought as a parsonage by the church for its first pastor, Thom Duncan, until we built the new parsonage in 2004," said Sue Clark. In 1979, they began work on the current church building, Harold explains: "We already had the 3 acre lot and the trailer. During the summer of 1979 we built the current building on the existing lot. The foundation had been laid earlier, and on the 4th of July, 1979 we started to build. The night before, 3 inches of snow fell on Whiteface. That summer, many church groups from other states came here to help us build. The building was up in two weeks. The older kids helped us finish with putting the remaining shingles on the roof." Sue adds: "We pushed to have the building finished quickly because we were asked to house ministry teams for the 1980 Winter Olympics."
Plattsburgh Sentinel, May 24, 1895.
—It is said the erection of a Baptist church at Saranac Lake will soon be commenced.
Plattsburgh Sentinel, May 14, 1909.
—The Baptist church property at Saranac Lake has been sold for $3,500. The new owner will probably transform the building into a business block.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, July 19, 1954
Knights Of Columbus Given Roller Skates
Through the offer of Mr. and Mrs. Robert McHugh, Fairground Skating Rink, Watertown, the Saranac Lake Knights of Columbus will be given 150 pairs of skates for use when its rink is ready for an early Fall opening.
The skates will be reconditioned as will an additional 150 pairs the organization has been promised. K. of C. members work nightly on volunteer construction of the 50 x 90 ft. rink at 15 Bloomingdale ave.
Comments
Footnotes
1. An 1897 photograph from Mt. Pisgah in the Adirondack Research Room shows the site as vacant, and the 1899 Sanborn Map shows the church extant.
2. 1895 Sanborn Map. The platform for the tent church may be visible in the 1897 photograph.]
3. 1916 Sanborn Map
4. 1924 Sanborn Map
5. 1931 Sanborn Map
