from the collection of the New-York Historical Society
On July 23, 1892, the Real Estate Record & Builders' Guide reported that the Scotch Presbyterian Church "will shortly commence the erection of a handsome church edifice...on the southwest corner of Central Park West and 96th street." Simultaneously, said the article, a "lecture room" would be constructed on the north side of 95th Street, just west of Central Park West. "The church will cost $150,000 and the lecture room $50,000," it said. The total figure would translate to about $7.3 million in 2026.
The Scotch Presbyterian Church originated following a schism within the First Presbyterian Church in 1756. After worshipping in several locations, the congregation erected a Sicilian Gothic-style church at 53 West 14th Street in 1852. Now (despite Dr. Charles Henry Parkhurst saying that the trustees "exhibited cowardice" by abandoning the increasingly commercial West 14th Street), the trustees planned another move.
William H. Hume & Son was commissioned to design what The New York Times promised would be "an imposing Romanesque pile." Construction on both buildings began in 1892 and by late summer of 1893 the West 95th Street structure was completed.
The West 95th Street building, like the church, was Romanesque in style. New-York Tribune, May 31, 1894 (copyright expired)
On September 18, the New-York Tribune reported that the "handsome new Sunday-school room of the Scotch Presbyterian Church...was formally opened yesterday afternoon." The article noted, "On October 1 the church congregation will begin to worship in the Sunday-school room, which it will use till the completion of its new church...in Ninth-sixth-st., behind the Sunday-school."
On March 31, 1894, The New York Times reported on the cornerstone laying ceremony. "W. H. Hume, the architect of the church building, spoke briefly, congratulating the officers of the church on the successful beginning of the work." The newspaper described Hume's plans:
The foundation is of bluestone and the rest of the structure will be of Indiana limestone. The iron-trussed roof will be covered with Spanish tiles. The main entrance, on Ninety-sixth Street, will be under three romanesque [sic] arches, above which there is to be a large rose window. At the northeast corner will be a high square tower.
Nine months later, the structure neared completion. On December 30, 1894, The New York Times remarked, "The new building of the Scotch Presbyterian Church, Ninety-sixth Street and Central Park West, attracts and rewards the visitor by its solid, impressive architecture and the display of art in the adornments." The artistic "adornments" included the Scotch thistle motif, which appeared "from the cornerstone to the cornice, over the organ, in the pew ends, and elsewhere."
The article vividly described the 52 stained-glass windows, executed by William Gibson's Sons. In the center of the "great wheel window over the main entrance," said the article, was "an open Bible with the text, 'Thy word is truth.'" It was surrounded by seven small round windows.
Completed in 1895, William H. Hume & Son had, indeed, created an "imposing Romanesque pile." Turning its shoulder to Central Park West, the building faced West 96th Street. Above a wide set of stone stairs, three arched entrances sat below the complex rose window within a yawning arch. On the western side of the peaked roof was a romantic turret with a conical cap. On the eastern side, a formidable bell tower rose high above Central Park West, terminating in a pyramidal cap.
Among the first social functions held by the church was a fund-raising event. On September 22, 1895, the New-York Tribune said it "has hit upon a novel scheme to raise funds." Congregants received "the oddest invitation they ever received." The cards, "printed on coarse wrapping paper of the cheapest quality," invited them to a "Povertie Partie." Written in Shakespearean-style prose like, "Ye women must wear ye cotton gowne and apron or equally befitting apparel," the invitations explained that the party was inspired by the "hard times which do now prevail." A list of fines, ranging from 1 to 25 cents, would be levied on guests who violated the dress code, like wearing a scarfpin or silk dress.
Two years later, the rector, David G. Wylie, and his family moved into the new "manse" next door to the church on West 96th Street. It was designed by Jardine, Kent & Jardine.
A sliver of the new rectory can be glimpsed at the right. from the collection of the New York Public Library
The Scotch Presbyterian Church, deeply rooted in the British Isles, was the scene of two mourning services for world leaders in 1901. In his sermon on January 27, Reverend Wylie memorialized Queen Victoria and pointed out the late monarch's viewpoint on women. He said in part, "she was interested in everything which tended to elevate woman. She was a queen in her home, and believed that home was pre-eminently woman's real sphere, where she should shine as a queen."
Eight months later, on September 16, The New York Times reported on Wylie's sermon following the assassination of President William McKinley. He said that the name of the fallen President would "be closely associated with those of Washington and Lincoln--an immortal triumvirate."
The Central Park West elevation. Streetcar tracks run down the middle of the stone-paved avenue. from the collection of the New-York Historical Society.
Earlier that year, on July 28, the decorum of Sunday service was shattered. During Reverend Wylie's sermon, a woman suddenly stood up. The New-York Tribune reported, "Tearing her collar from around her neck, she placed it around her head and exclaimed: 'I am going to be married to Mr. Rockwell.'"
Wylie stopped speaking, the congregants turned to face the disturbance, and an usher rushed over to the woman. The New-York Tribune described her as "tall, black haired and neatly attired in a white waist and a black skirt." When the usher attempted to restrain her, she "fought desperately, and succeeded in tearing the lining entirely out of the man's coat." She was finally carried to the vestry room where she continued to attempt to "get at the usher, especially after the unfortunate man, in his efforts to quiet the woman, told her that he was Mr. Rockwell."
An ambulance took Pearl Rockwell to the Harlem Hospital. She was later transferred to Bellevue Hospital and placed in the "insane pavilion." There it was learned that the 40-year-old and her husband were estranged. "It is thought that grief over the separation unbalanced her mind," explained the New-York Tribune.
Rev. Dr. David G. Wylie, New-York Tribune, September 17, 1904 (copyright expired)
Reverend Wylie, like other pastors throughout the city, was highly opinionated and announced his views from the pulpit. On July 3, 1904, for instance, he laid out the evils that threatened the United States. He said in part:
One of our National evils is Mormonism. Another is divorce. The next menace is that of the saloon. Corporate greed offers a menace not to be forgotten...There ought to be a greater regard for human life in this country than there is at present. Our street railways are a source of danger because of the gross carelessness often exhibited. The automobile threatens the lives of children, women, and old people.
In 1907 the Scotch Presbyterian Church merged with the First Reformed Presbyterian Church. That congregation moved into the West 96th Street edifice and on March 16, the New York Herald confirmed that the consolidated congregations would operate "under the name of the Scotch Presbyterian Church."
David G. Wylie had married Jennie McWilliam in 1884. The couple had four sons, Howard M., David R., John McWilliam, and Robert Sterling, and one daughter, Jennie D. The family found themselves in the national spotlight when John went missing.
On April 26, John Wylie, who was 15 at the time, and his best friend, 16-year-old Buster Gutelius, sold their bicycles and took the $25 they obtained to buy train tickets to Port Jervis, New York. The duo later explained that they "were in search of some needed outdoor recreation."
When the boys failed to come home from school that Friday afternoon, their parents had reported them missing. By Tuesday the New York newspapers reached the Mill Rift Post Office near the Pennsylvania border. The boys, who had established a camp within a cave, purchased an axe, some eggs, and other rations, from the general store that shared space with the post office.
When Wylie and Gutelius returned, Postmaster Maloney compared their faces with the photographs. Rather than confronting them and risking scaring them away, he quietly mailed off a letter to Rev. David G. Wylie. On the morning of May 3, Dr. Wylie and another son arrived at the post office while the Gutelius family waited nervously on Central Park West for word.
Maloney sent a neighbor, Samuel Wilson, to the mountain cave with word that the postmaster needed to see him. Leaving Buster cooking bacon and flapjacks, John Wylie rushed to town. When he entered Maloney’s store, he was confronted with his father and brother. The quixotic adventure was over.
The New York Times wrote, “Dr. Wylie was much impressed by the natural habitation, and was delighted to find that the boys had been living in a comfortable manner. However, they had but $2 left.”
The following morning the New-York Tribune ran a headline reading “Cave Boys Come Home.” The newspaper advised “The erstwhile cave men, or cave boys, did not willingly leave their subterranean retreat in a mountainside near Millville, Penn., but they came back at the earnest persuasion of Dr. Wylie.”
Reverend David G. Wiley would suffer unspeakable tragedy in 1910. On October 8, he conducted the funeral of John McWilliam Wylie, whose adventure had captured America's attention three years earlier. The New York Times remarked, "members of the [United Boy's Brigade of America], his classmates in public, high, and Sunday schools will be present."
Jennie McWilliam Wylie fell sick upon his son's death. Less than a month later, on November 4, she died. The New-York Tribune said that it was thought that the loss of her son had "hastened Mrs. Wylie's death."
After occupying the pulpit of the Scotch Presbyterian Church for 23 years, on February 23, 1914, The New York Times reported that Wylie had resigned to take the position of Secretary of the Board of Church Erection of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. (On October 1 that year, the newspaper reported on his engagement to Martha Richter Thomas.)
The Reverend Dr. Robert Watson was installed as the new pastor on January 10, 1915. Two years later, the congregation's name was changed to the Second Presbyterian Church.
In the post-World War I years, congregations nation-wide began embracing a new concept: the skyscraper church. Parishes replaced their church edifices with office or apartment buildings that incorporated worship space within the lower floors. On January 17, 1928, The New York Times reported that the Second Presbyterian Church would lease its property "to the Vinross Realties Company, Inc." The article explained that the developer would replace the church with "a fifteen-story apartment building, which will house and support the church and its various activities."
Demolition of the 33-year-old church structure began in 1928. It was replaced by 360 Central Park West, designed by Rosario Candela.
image via streeteasy.com
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