Landmarks60: The Historic Churches of Our Neighborhood
The New York City Landmarks Law was signed into law on April 19, 1965, by Mayor Robert Wagner. Since then, about 38,000 properties in all five boroughs have been protected under the law.
Many of the landmarks designated in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo were highlighted as part of our celebration of Landmarks50, the 50th anniversary of the law in 2015. Much has changed since then. In the ten years following the 50th anniversary, twenty-five individual landmarks and one historic district have been designated in our neighborhoods, nearly all of which Village Preservation proposed for landmark designation and fought to protect.
As a part of our celebration of Landmarks60, or what is now 60 years since the NYC Landmarks Law, Village Preservation recently published an interactive map tracing all of the historic districts and individual, scenic, and interior landmark designations in our neighborhoods. The map allows viewers to explore how these designations evolved over time.
Today, we continue our exploration of the Landmarks60 map by taking a look at the history and architecture of the landmarked churches and worship structures in our neighborhood.
Saint Marks-in-the-Bowery (131 E 10th St)
On April 25, 1795, the cornerstone was laid for what would become known as Saint Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery. This church is New York City’s oldest site of continuous worship, and was also one of the city’s earliest landmarks, designated as an individual landmark in 1966 and as part of the Saint Mark’s Historic District in 1969.
The structure sits diagonally on its lot, nodding to its origins in early New York City, a time before either of its cross streets, 10th Street and Second Avenue, were constructed. When the cornerstone for this church was laid, it stood on Governor Peter Stuyvesant’s farm, or bouwerie, and was replacing another church built in 1660 at that exact location.
Grace Church (800 Broadway)
The Gothic Revival-style Grace Church was built in 1843-46 by famed architect James Renwick, Jr., and designated an individual NYC landmark in 1966. In 1974, the entire complex was listed on both the State and National Register of Historic Places. It is considered one of the best examples of Gothic architecture in the country.
Grace Church has gone through multiple upgrades in its lifetime. The original wooden steeple was rebuilt in 1883 to be made of marble. The original windows were made of lightly tinted plain glass and were switched out with higher-quality, stained glass windows that remain at the church today.
Church of the Immaculate Conception and Clergy Houses (406-412 and 414 E 14th Street)
The Gothic Eclectic-style Church of the Immaculate Conception, formerly Grace Chapel, was one of the East Village’s earliest individual landmarks, designated in 1966. Two buildings currently stand on this lot. No. 406 E 14th Street was designed by architect Barney & Chapman and erected in 1894 in stone and Roman brick. No. 141 E 14th Street is a pair of three-and-a-half-story brick and stone clergy houses that became one of the East Village’s first designated individual landmark sites in 1966.
The mission closed in 1943, after which the complex was bought by Immaculate Conception, which had lost its 1858 Gothic Revival church during the construction of Stuyvesant Town. The church is a great example of Gothic Eclectic architecture and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Judson Church (51 Washington Square South)
Judson Hall was designed by architect John G. Prague and completed in 1877. The campanile (tower) and main church building were designed by McKim, Mead & White and built in 1890-95 and 1892, respectively. The Italian Renaissance Eclectic-style Judson Memorial Church buildings were individually landmarked in 1966, making them among the very first designations in New York City. This group of buildings at #51-55 covers the entire blockfront of Washington Square South between Thompson and Sullivan Street, except for the NYU Kevorkian Center at the western end of the block at #50.
One of the church’s key features is its stained glass windows that grace its Meeting Hall. Fourteen of them decorate the sanctuary, and three more can be found in the main stairwell. All but one were designed by John La Farge between 1892 and 1910; they were manufactured by the Decorative Stained Glass Company and Thomas Wright between 1892 and 1915.
First German Baptist Church (334 E 14th Street)
Later known as the Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church of St. Volodymyr, and now the Congregation Tifereth Israel Town and Village Synagogue
This Romanesque Revival building was originally The First German Baptist Church, and later became the Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church of St. Volodymyr. Since 1962, the building has been home to Congregation Tifereth Israel, Town and Village Synagogue. The use of specifically German sources and restrained handling of detail sets this apart from other many of the other surviving Rundbogenstil churches in New York.
Having been calendared since 1966, this worship space, designed in the “Rundbogenstil” style, finally became a designated landmark in 2014 after Village Preservation and allies pushed the Landmarks Preservation Commission to hold a public hearing and vote.
Eleventh Street Methodist Episcopal Chapel (545-547 E 11th Street)
Later known as the People’s Home Church and Settlement, and now the Father’s Heart Church
The Eleventh Street Methodist Episcopal Chapel was constructed ca. 1867-68 to a Gothic Revival design by William Field and Son, altered in 1900-01 with Colonial Revival details by Jallede and Barber, and landmarked in 2010 with support from Village Preservation.
Originally housing the Eleventh Street Methodist Episcopal Church, after a renovation in 1900, it was renamed the People’s Home Church and Settlement. In 1941, the Methodists sold the building to the Russian Ukrainian Polish Pentecostal Church, which, according to the LPC designation report, was “the first Slavic Pentecostal church in the country.” This church merged in 1998 with Father’s Heart Ministries, and since then has been known as the Father’s Heart Ministry Center.
St. Nicholas of Myra Orthodox Church (288 E 10th Street)
This ca. 1882-83 picturesque church was originally constructed as the Memorial Chapel of St. Mark’s Parish, and has been occupied by the St. Nicholas of Myra Orthodox Church since 1925. It was landmarked in 2008 with support from Village Preservation.
When St. Nicholas took over the building, which had originally been designed by renowned architect James Renwick Jr. (who also designed Grace Church), they added the distinctive copper crosses to the top of the tower, the peak of the sanctuary gable, and the entrance porch.