Village Preservation is working with fellow local preservation organizations and parishioners to preserve the endangered, historic Most Holy Redeemer Church at 173 East 3rd Street, between Avenues A and B in the East Village. The church was once one of the city’s tallest structures, founded in 1844 by German-speaking Redemptorist missionaries amid the growing German influx in the neighborhood then called Kleindeutschland, and completed in 1851. The “German Cathedral of the Lower East Side” has had a major impact over more than the last century and a half, from the introduction of Gregorian chants at Catholic churches to innovations in electricity for religious structures and fire safety citywide.

Despite that rich history, the church’s future remains in doubt as masses have been halted there. The Landmarks Preservation Commission has had a poor track record of preserving churches, synagogues, and other historic sites in the East Village in recent years, and in general has become increasingly averse to preserving endangered historic sites. Join our campaign to preserve the Most Holy Redeemer Church and its ongoing service to and legacy in the East Village.