On June 5, 1903 the cornerstone for Richmond Virginia’s
basilica-style Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, a gift of New York millionaire
Thomas F. Ryan and his wife, was laid.
The architect, Joseph H. McGuire, had partnered with Rafael Guastavino
on the project and the completed cathedral ceiling would soar upward as a
series of tile-covered arches. Before
long the pair would work together again, this time for the Chapel for St.
Joseph’s Institute at Throgs Neck, New York.
Joseph Hubert McGuire specialized in Catholic churches and
his decision to work with Guastavino was a step out of the box of ecclesiastical
architecture. By now Guastavino’s
process of creating strong, self-supporting arches clad with interlocking tiles
was wildly popular. It was found throughout
the city--in the beautiful 1904 City Hall Subway Station and as a forest of
tiled columns and arches under the 1909 Queensboro Bridge, for instance. But at a time when Catholic churches were
adorned with frescoes, marble or faux marble columns, and ornate stenciling,
Guastavino’s utilitarian tiles were totally unexpected and superbly successful. And the pair would join forces at least one
more time.
As the 19th century drew to a close the Upper
West Side was no longer a developing district. It was a firmly established neighborhood and
the Catholic Church made sure that the needs of its flock were covered. In the winter of 1898 Archbishop Michael
Corrigan “decided upon the planting of a new parish church on the west side half
way between the Blessed Sacrament, at Broadway and Seventy-first Street, and
the Holy Name, at Amsterdam Avenue and Ninety-sixth Street,” as recorded in The
New York Times.
The new parish was named the Church of the Most Holy Trinity
and land was acquired almost immediately on the north side of West 82nd
Street just west of Amsterdam Avenue.
The congregation worshiped in a large hall on Broadway next to the
First Baptist Church while plans for the church structure were laid. Holy Trinity’s first rector, Rev. Joseph H.
Bigley, was eager to take on the project.
The New York Times later wrote “to the task Father Bigley
devoted himself with enthusiasm.” Bigley’s
zeal in getting construction underway and the church completed was so fevered
that “many friends [worried] that he was overtaxing himself,” said the
newspaper.
Plans for the church were filed in March 1899. In reporting on the filing the Architectural
Record & Builders’ Guide got the facts wrong—naming Thomas J McGuire, an
important real estate developer, as the architect, rather than Joseph H.
McGuire.
The cornerstone was laid in the fall of 1899. The New York Times was not so sure it liked
the plans, issuing a headline on October 21, 1899 “New Catholic Church’s Odd
Design.” The newspaper reported “The
design of the new church is unique, in that its main feature is a large dome,
supported by eight columns, thus affording a lofty central space clear of
obstruction in the nave. The towers, one
at each side of the front, will serve as gallery stairways, and there will be
outside entrances through them, besides two basement and two main entrances. The basement, now building, will seat 750, and
the church proper 850.” At the time of
The Times article, construction costs were projected to be $150,000—about $4
million today.
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| The Real Estate Record & Building Guide published McGuire's sketch on March 18, 1911 (copyright expired) |
As construction continued, Father Bigley’s enthusiasm
increased. By April the basement was
completed and roofed over. Services were
planned to begin in the basement in May.
Those around the priest warned him of overwork. “Father Bigley in his zeal listened to
neither the warnings of his physician, Dr. J. A. O’Neill, nor to those of his
assistant, the Rev. A. J. Driscoll,” said The Times, “and as the time when the
realization of his plans to conduct the services of the parish in its own
church approached, his energy and self-denial increased.”
On April 24, 1900 the newspaper reported “He was constantly
occupied last week and very busy with parishioners on Sunday.” Bigley went to bed in the parish house,
almost directly opposite the building site, around 10:00 that night, planning
to say mass the next morning. When he
did not appear, the housekeeper, Elizabeth Dee, rapped at his door. Receiving no response, she called Father
Driscoll. The priest forced the door and
found Father Bigley dead on the floor.
He had suffered a heart attack while preparing to go to mass.
The first service in Holy Trinity’s basement was not held
until August 5, 1900. By now the membership
had swelled to 5,000 and Archbishop Corrigan had named a new rector, Rev.
Michael J. Considine.
The basement, which had cost $30,000, was finished in oak
and could seat 600 worshipers. “There
are three altars and a fine organ is in place,” reported The Times. Despite the large membership, however, it
appears that money for construction had run out. The newspaper said that now that the basement
was completed “that is all that is to be attempted at present.”
Indeed, it would be a decade before further construction was
considered. Then on April 9, 1910 the
Record & Guide reported that the church had purchased the property directly
behind the site, at Nos. 212-216 West 83rd Street at a cost of
$100,000. Not only was the parish ready
to build; it had decided on a larger structure. The Record & Guide, on March 18, 1911,
explained “When in 1910 the superstructure was commenced it was decided to
lengthen the sanctuary by 12 feet, additional ground having in the meantime
been purchased. As large a seating
capacity as possible was desired, together with a large sanctuary, narthex,
sacristy and baptistery.”
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| The Atlantic Terra Cotta Company used Holy Trinity as an example of its intricate work. The Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide January 20, 1912 (copyright expired) |
The church was essentially completed by February 1911 when
Architecture and Building detailed the parties involved in addition to McGuire. “Carter, Black & Ayres supplied the front
brick for the exterior and the interior brick also. The dome is of Guastavino construction. The McBride Studios built the altars, and the
Daprato Statuary Company supplied the stations of the cross. The Gorham Co. supplied the crucifix for the
high altar and the sanctuary lamp.”
As he and Guastavino had done in the Cathedral of the Sacred
Heart, McGuire turned to the basilica plan for Holy Trinity. Designed in what the
Record & Guide called “modified Byzantine” the sumptuous facade melded
light-colored brick with exuberant terra cotta details.
A Catholic journal called the design “one of the finest
examples of Byzantine architecture in this country.” It was a well-intentioned if slightly off-base compliment. Joseph McGuire’s design
was, indeed, essentially Byzantine. But he splashed the facade with touches of Romanesque and perched two magnificent copper Greek-inspired cupolas upon the corner towers.
Bands
of terra cotta interrupted the brick of the towers to create a striped
effect. A grand
arch dominated the façade, enclosing the three main entrance doors and the
large rose window.
Inside, Guastavino and McGuire had joined forces to create a
masterwork. The basilica plan resulted
in a nearly-square sanctuary. “The
crossing is some seventy feet in diameter and is surmounted by a tile dome,”
said The Real Estate Record & Builders’ Guide on March 18, 1911. “The nave and transept, if one may so call
them, are forty-two feet in width and are covered with barrel vaults of
tile. The four pendentives are pierced
with niches covered with gold mosaic, and the principal artificial illumination
of the church is obtained by light reflected from these niches.”
The use of Guastivano’s tile, in itself, smacked of the Arts
and Crafts Movement. And McGuire carefully
introduced the popular style in the form of flat-paneled oaken woodwork, herring-bone brick
wall panels, and the earthy ochres, pinks and greens of the wonderful terra cotta
columns. His ability to meld the starkly
diverse architectural and decorative styles in Holy Trinity resulted in a
sumptuous yet not overly-ornamented interior.
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| Polychrome bands of the terra cotta columns play off the soft cream and pinks of the ceiling tiles. |
In the spring of 1912 plans were underway for the dedication
of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity. On
May 2 Archbishop Giovanni Bonzano, the new papal delegate to the United States,
was on a steamer headed for New York.
Cardinal John Murphy Farley had planned an extensive schedule of
receptions and dinners to welcome him.
The congregation of Holy Trinity was no doubt highly excited when The
Sun reported “On Sunday he will dedicate the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in
West Eighty-second street.”
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| The gallery and foyer ceilings were clad in Guastavino tiles, the floors in mosaic, and the brick walls interspersed with herringbone panels. |
It would not be, however.
On May 6 The New York Times reported “It was decided two or three days
before the arrival of the Papal Delegate that he should dedicated this church
as the first official act of his office after his arrival. But the Delegate upset these plans by pleading
fatigue. He said mass in the Cathedral
at 7 o’clock and rested during the remainder of the day.”
It was up to Cardinal Farley to officiate. “The Cardinal performed the ceremony in the
presence of a devout assemblage of the parish,” said the newspaper.
The first years of the church’s existence saw some unusual incidences. Rev. Dennis J. Driscoll was an assistant
rector here. When the priest began
exhibiting some peculiarities, he was sent to the Mount Hope Retreat in
Arlington, Maryland “for mental troubles.”
He seemed to have recovered and he was sent to the Church of the Blessed
Sacrament in New Rochelle. Driscoll, however, had
not recovered.
The priest showed inappropriate attentions to Marie J. Niehuaus,
daughter of sculptor Charles Henry Niehaus.
According to The Evening World, “His conduct there and especially his
apparent forgetfulness of his work in his infatuation for Miss Niehaus led the
rector to cause his removal.” The pair
was married in City Hall in Jersey City by Justice of the Peace Frank P.
Lehane. After living together for ten
days, Driscoll disappeared.
“Testimony was given before Justice Mills that the former
priest was not cure of his insanity and did not know what he was doing when he
married,” said The Evening World. The
newspaper’s headline on April 6, 1914 read “Sculptor’s Daughter Wins Annulment
of Marriage to Priest.”
A clandestine wedding took place in the church on July 30, 1915
when St. Julian Ravenel, Jr. married Nancy Walker Hull. The bride’s father, Joseph Hull, was
president of the Merchants National Bank of Savannah and, according to The Sun,
“is reputed to be the wealthiest Georgian.”
The groom, said the newspaper, “belongs to an old South Carolina
family. His parents came to New York
about twelve years ago.”
What would have been a socially-important wedding was
instead a secret. “The bride is about 17
years of age and the bridegroom not much more than 21,” reported The Sun. The parents of the couple had been aware of
the romance, and accepted their “engagement.”
No doubt they expected that it was merely a passing infatuation. Nancy was still years from her debut. The Sun said “because of their youth the
engagement was not announced by their parents.”
The pair took matters in their own hands and were married by
the Rev. Father Hackett in Holy Trinity.
They kept the secret from their parents until October 6 “and when they
told it they received parental forgiveness and blessings.”
In the early days of the 20th century elevator
operators were termed “pilots.” One of
the most well-known of these was Irish immigrant Barney Garland who, in 1916,
had operated one of the elevators in the Waldorf-Astoria for 17 years. His highly-visible job put him in contact
with titans of banking and industry who came to know him on a first name
basis. The Sun said on October 14 that
year “captains of industry, buccaneers of finance, statesmen, merchant princes and
even wine agents always say: ‘Hello, Barney’—just like that.”
“And for seventeen years rubbing elbows with the great and
acting as godfather to his friends’ children contented him,” said the
newspaper. But the bachelor was about to
be less contented. Around September 1916
Garland was present at a christening party and met a young Irish girl, Anna
Fitzsimmons. “One word let to another,
as words will when tinged with a brogue,” said The Sun. “So they were married Wednesday at Holy Trinity
Church,” just a few weeks later.
While the weddings of immigrant couples was rarely noticed; the elevator pilot was so well-known and liked that his marriage earned widespread newspaper attention.
While the weddings of immigrant couples was rarely noticed; the elevator pilot was so well-known and liked that his marriage earned widespread newspaper attention.
A highly-unusual marriage ceremony took place here on
February 10, 1917. Almost simultaneously,
Marie Lenore Taylor became the bride of Thomas Murray Quinn; and her brother,
John C. Taylor married Dorothy Madden Radcliffe. The two couples assisted each other in the
ceremonies. In order to do so, as soon as Marie and Thomas had completed their
vows they rushed to the back of the church to follow the second couple to the
altar. “Despite the excitement and the
necessary quick changes they did not get their parts mixed up and everything
came out exactly as had been planned,” said The Sun the following day. “Both ceremonies required only half an hour.”
One of the most tragic episodes to unfold at Holy Trinity occurred
on Sunday morning, April 9, 1923. James
Walsh served as altar boy that morning and following mass the nine-year old
rushed out of the church “hurrying home for breakfast,” as reported in The
Times the next day. As he darted across
82nd Street, he was struck by the car of cotton goods manufacturer
Louis J. Lippman and thrown to the sidewalk.
Lippman picked up the little boy and with Patrolman John Lahey took him
to Roosevelt Hospital. His skull was
fractured.
On October 4, 1931 Holy Trinity Church was rededicated by Cardinal
Patrick Joseph Hayes. In preparation for
the event, the church received new elements.
“Bronze front doors, a huge Byzantine crucifix and a bronze statue of
Christ, additional stained glass windows, altars, stations of the cross and
lighting fixtures are among the new decorations in the church,” reported The
New York Times
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| The large hanging fixture was added in 1931. Unseen is the stained glass oculus at the center of the 66-foot diameter dome. photo by Byron Company, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York http://collections.mcny.org/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult_VPage&VBID=24UAYWSWUDKW&SMLS=1&RW=1366&RH=631 |
In 1995 McGuire’s superb cupolas were necessarily removed
due to deterioration. Otherwise the
magnificent and much-overlooked structure is beautifully intact. The interior space is a must-see for lovers
of Guastavino.
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| Brilliant mosaics fill the spandrels of the rose window. |
non credited photographs taken by the author and Lawrence Mentz
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Beutiful big church, almost no one in it.
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