This building was erected as the Third Unitarian Universalist church in 1833. In 1883, the Unitarians sold the building to the fledgling African-American Roman Catholic congregation of Saint Benedict the Moor. In 1898, with New York City’s Black population moving to the West Fifties, Saint Benedict’s sold the church to the Italian-American congregation of Our Lady of Pompei (this was an unusual move; Roman Catholic parishes usually stay in one place, serving whoever settles in the neighborhood, and was indicative of the racism of the day.) The church stood at 210 Bleecker, its façade looking up Minetta Street, flanked by Downing Street on the southwest and Hancock on the northeast. In 1926, the building was demolished to make way for the extension of Sixth Avenue below Bleecker Street.

From: Center for Migration Studies Collection
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Date
May 8, 1907
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