Tallowood Talking

Tallowood is friendly place, but there are areas on campus where not everyone is welcome.  Some places are potentially dangerous.  Others house sensitive equipment.  In this post, Tallowood Today takes you behind the scenes to just some of the places around campus not generally seen by the congregation.

 Many of these spots stay locked.  Others are open to everyone, but not easy to find.

Organ Chamber – This area is perched above the choir and is the space housing the organ pipes.  The organ chamber is a labyrinthine room of pipes and tubes.  This is the source of sound from the organ.

Organ Chamber – This is one of  several levels to the organ chamber.  If the space looks claustrophobic that’s because it is…

Organ Pit — The organ sits to the side of the main platform in the worship center.  It is at a lower level and people in the congregation must sit at just the correct angle to see even the top of the head of church organist Dr. Jason Farris. 

Choir Loft Stairs – On Sunday mornings the choir seems to appear from doors in the back wall of the choir loft.  If you have wondered where they come from these are the stairs they take to ascend into the choir loft.

Baptistry – Everyone has seen the Baptistry, of course, but perhaps not from this angle.

Men’s Changing Room – Located in a hallway directly behind the Baptistry are changing rooms – one for men, one for women, and one for the pastor.  Towels and baptismal robes line the walls.

Music Library – This is the area where all of the church’s choral music is stored.  This is the music library.  Unfortunately, you can’t get a card to this library.

Bride’s Room – This photo is a Tallowoodtalking exclusive – the eagerly awaited Bride’s room.  The new Bride’s Room will be much roomier than the prior version.  It is under construction and near completion.  It is located adjacent to the chapel.

Central Plant Building – This is a critical part of the Tallowood campus — the Central Plant Building.  It houses the HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) and fire sprinkler systems for the campus.  The hardware in the picture is the HVAC chiller system.

Central Plant Building – This is the fire sprinkler pump and the sprinkler system storage tank.  The tank stores thousands of gallons of water to be used in case of fire.  It also holds the running water for the third floor of the West Tower.  The water has to be pumped into the tank to overcome the height of the floor.

Central Plant Building – Tallowood Property Manager, Steve Felts, climbs the ladder leading to the roof of the Central Plant Building where the HVAC condensers are located.   It is Steve and his team who keep Tallowood’s facilities in tip-top shape.

Central Plant Building – Hidden away on the roof of the Central Plant Building are the HVAC condensers.  They transfer heat out of the HVAC system to keep occupants of the building cool during Houston’s summers.  The walls surrounding the condensers are sound proofed to prevent the condenser motors from disturbing Tallowood services or the church’s neighbors.