File:Union Congregational Church, Hall, New York - 20221004.jpg

English: Union Congregational Church, 4823 State Route 14A (corner Jacob Street), Hall, New York, October 2022. Aside from the asymmetrical façade on which the tower is set off to the right-hand corner, this work of the Buffalo-based architecture firm of North & Shelgren is otherwise a fine example of the Colonial Revival style that was at the height of its popularity at the time of its construction, and which, according to an article in the Geneva Daily Times, was chosen "not only because it is best suited to local associations, but also because [it] more readily adapts itself to the requirements of the Congregational services, as well as various forms of community service for body, mind, and spirit". Requisite aesthetic elements include the composition of the exterior (red brick accented by woodwork painted white), the Classical detailing around the entrances at the base of the corner tower (framed by Doric pilaster strips and broken pediments), and above all, the large Palladian window that dominates the façade. Union Congregational traces its history back to 1857, when a Sunday school class was established for residents of this rather far-flung hamlet who heretofore had found themselves hard-pressed to arrange transportation to the nearest full-fledged church. The membership was multidenominational (hence its eventual name) and over the next decades grew large enough that it became appropriate to explore the question of whether it should be constituted as a church and a house of worship built. Under the capable administration of the Rev. John Dayton Axtell, Jr., the one-year, $42,000 construction process of what was described at the time as "one of the finest equipped rural churches in Western New York" culminated in a November 4, 1923 dedication just in time for the church's seventh anniversary. The congregation is still active and is nowadays affiliated with the United Church of Christ.