The Lost 1826 Masonic Hall - 316 Broadway

 

from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

On April 18, 1826, the Masonic Hall Association announced in the New-York Evening Post its intention "to commence building a Masonic Hall, for the accommodation of all the lodges and other masonic bodies in this city, in the ensuing month."  The article offered "subscriptions to the stock of said association" for $10 each--about $330 in 2026 terms. 

The cornerstone was laid on June 24, 1826.  The Evening Post remarked that New Yorkers had witnessed, "for the first time, we believe, in twenty years, the novel and interesting spectacle of a Masonic Procession."  The article mentioned that inscribed on the stone, along with names of the trustees and builders, was, "Brother Hugh Reinagle, Architect."  The New York Times added, "Many thousands of our citizens were present to witness the ceremony."

The $10 stock certificates depicted Reinagle's rendering.  from the collection of the New York Masonic Library.

Reinagle was not an architect, but a well-known landscape painter.  Nonetheless, his Masonic Hall was one of the first Gothic Revival structures in America.  The New York Times would recall in 1856, "At the time of its erection, it was looked upon as a prodigy of American architecture." 

Sitting on Broadway between Duane and Worth Streets, the building was completed in 1827 at a cost of $50,000, or about $1.7 million today.  It was faced in "eastern gray granite," according to The New York Times.  Two triple Gothic-arched arcades flanked the main entrance, which was ornamented with Gothic crockets.  A row of stone quatrefoils introduced the second floor, which was dominated by a central arched window 22 feet high and 10 feet wide.  The New York Times described it as being, "divided into small diamond-shaped window panes in leaden frames."  The third floor sat between an intermediate cornice and slightly projecting band course.  A rose window distinguished the fourth floor and the crenelated roofline sprouted crocketed pinnacles.

Geo. P. Hall & Son depicted the residential neighborhood around Masonic Hall in 1830.  from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

Historian Rufus Rockwell Wilson would recall in his 1903 New York: Old & New, "A costly Gothic structure, its first floor was given up to a single spacious apartment, intended for public meetings, concerts, and balls, while its third story was arranged for the meetings of the fraternity from which it borrowed its name."  Visitors entered a long hall that extended through the length of the building.  The Grand Saloon--95 feet long, 20 feet high and 47 feet wide--on the second floor was described by The New York Times as "the most splendid apartment of the kind in the United States."  According to the newspaper, Reinagle had based its design on the Chapel of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey, saying:

The ceiling was beautifully ornamented, and fancifully divided into light arches with numerous decorations...Open-work columns supported arches which projected from the side walls, between which were false windows wreathed with flowers cut in stone, and carved corbels, and other architectural adornments.

There were historic-themed spaces.  The New-York Tribune (which described the Grand Saloon as a "splendid memorial of feudal age, and venerated relic of the early arts,") said that the Great Doric Hall was "equally distinguished for its simplicity, its beauty, and commanding size."  Another of the semi-public spaces, according to the article, was the Reading-Room Library.

New Yorkers had an opportunity to see selected spaces on November 30, 1827.  An announcement in the New-York Evening Post said:  

The public is informed that the Gothic Saloon in that splendid edifice, the Masonic Hall, will be opened for inspection on Wednesday...at which time the whole of the decorations, Grand Lodge furniture, hangings, &c., used at the dedication, can be seen.  The Chapter Lodge and Banqueting rooms can be viewed at the same time.

Tickets to tour the three areas cost 25 cents, or about $8 today.

Certain meeting rooms were available for rent.  On October 30, 1828, for instance, the Republican Electors of the Sixth Ward held a meeting for promoting the nomination of "the election of General Andrew Jackson" for President.  The following year, a meeting of the Friends of the American System backed Henry Clay for the U.S. Senate here.

The Grand Saloon was the scene of the Scottish themed Thistle Ball on March  18, 1829.  The New-York Evening Post reported, "Two Bag Pipers, and a number of Gentlemen in Highland Costume, will promenade the room before the commencement of the Ball."  This was a benefit event for John Graham, "as a mark of respect for his genius, the emanations of which have so frequently enlivened of public festivals; and also, an alleviation of his affliction, he being entire deprived of sight."

from the collection of the New York Masonic Library

Later that year, in October, a less expected function took place.  The New-York Evening Post reported that a boa constrictor was on exhibition.  "Although but about five years of age, it already measures some seventeen or eighteen feet in length," said the article.  Another snake, an anaconda, had been removed from the exhibition because, "it is now torpid from the process which it is undergoing of changing its skin."  The article proposed, however, "When the shedding shall be completed, an opportunity will probably be afforded to the public of seeing this animal destroy and swallow its quarterly meal."

In 1827, the body of anti-Mason William Morgan washed up on the shore of Lake Ontario.  Shortly after, David Cade Miller published a book that strongly suggested that he had been murdered by Masons.  The book eventually affected Masonic Hall.  Rufus Rockwell Wilson recalled in 1903, "But following the blow given to Masonry by the disappearance of William Morgan, its name was changed to Gothic Hall."

Gothic Hall continued to be the venue of political rallies, temperance meetings, and exhibitions.  On July 26, 1841, for instance, the New-York Tribune reported on the "grand opening fete" of the temperance movement.  Among the activities, said the article, was "an elegant supper, upon Temperance principles, served up in the Doric Hall with the same splendor and magnificent that was displayed in London at the Great Temperance Festival at the Coloseum [sic]."

from the collection of the New York Public Library

On November 29, 1854, an advertisement in the New-York Tribune read: "On Friday, Dec. 1., the marvelous Hybrid, or Bear-Woman, will be exhibited--pronounced by naturalists as a mysterious link combining the Human Species with the Brute Creation."

At the time of the Bear-Woman's appearance here, the end of the magnificent structure was near.  On May 26, 1856, The New York Times reported, "They are tearing down Gothic Hall, in Broadway."  After reminiscing about the building's history and mentioning that it had held the "largest bowling alley in the world," the article said, "The workmen are busily engaged in tearing down the walls of the edifice, and in a few days nothing will remain on the spot but dust and ruins."

Today the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building sits on the site.

image by Ajay Suresh

The Lost Manhattan Academy Building - 213 West 32nd Street

 

from the Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York, 1870 (copyright expired)

An announcement in the New York Herald on September 29, 1864 informed New Yorkers about the newly opened Manhattan Academy, a branch of Manhattan College.  It said:

This new academy is now ready for the reception of students.  Its object is to afford the important advantages of commercial, scientific, classical and moral education.  Terms: Classical department, $12 per quarter; Commercial department, $12 per quarter; Intermediate department, $8 per quarter; Primary department, $5 per quarter.

The more expensive tuition would translate to about $250 per quarter in 2026.  That initial ad, however, did not mention  the non-educational costs.  There were also an entrance fee, board, a "washing" fee, and a physician's fee.  The total yearly cost would equal $5,700 today.  

Operated by the Brothers of Christian Schools, the Manhattan Academy was organized in 1864 and chartered the following year.  An ad in King's Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York commented, "The location is healthy, and a few minutes' walk distant from Central Park."  (The 27-block stroll might not be described as "a few minutes' walk" today.)

The academy's newly built structure at 127 West 32nd Street (later 213 West 32nd Street) was four stories tall above a high English basement.  Shallow buttresses divided its symmetrical, Gothic Revival-style facade into five vertical sections.  The large Gothic-pointed arch that held the double-doored entrance was echoed in the windows of the first through third floors.  The exception were the centered openings, which, like the fourth floor, were square-headed and wore Gothic drip moldings.  A regimented corbel table ran below the minimal cornice, and a mansard-capped cupola or bell tower sat atop the roof.

Each year, the students underwent a three-day "annual examination," or what today might be called finals.  The tests culminated with an awards and honors ceremony.  The New-York Tribune reported on the 1868 ceremony on July 1.  "The exercises were held at the Everett Rooms, where a very large audience was assembled, among whom were a number of clergymen," said the article.  "The Manhattan College band furnished the music on the occasion, discoursing some very fine airs."

The newspaper reported on the academy's "rapid progress" on July 2, 1869, saying it, "now presents the combined advantages

of classical, scientific, and commercial course of instruction."  In also noted, "An excellent musical corps has been organized from among the 250 students of this institution."

A rare instance of criminality within the confines of the Manhattan Academy came in the summer of 1888.  On August 22, The Evening World reported, "George Burns was held in $300 bail, at Jefferson Market, this morning, for stealing a picture of Pope Pius IX, from the wall at the Manhattan Academy."

By 1891, the formerly bucolic neighborhood around Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street had changed.  Now part of the often notorious Tenderloin District, its demographics had severely changed as the Black community moved here from Greenwich Village.  

On January 31, 1891, The New York Times reported that the Christian Brothers had erected a new academy building at 50 Second Street.  "The new academy will be opened Monday," said the article.  On the same day, the Record & Guide reported that the "property known as the 'Manhattan Academy,' a five-story school building, Nos. 209 to 213 West 32d street," had been sold to Benedict Fischer for $90,000 (about $3.2 million today).

Fischer made substantial renovations and on February 14, 1892 advertised in the New York Herald, "For Sale on Favorable terms, the five story Building...formerly Manhattan College, suitable for manufacturing or business purposes."

The buyer defaulted, and in September 1898, Benedict Fischer foreclosed on the building.  On November 6, the New York Herald reported that he hired architect Joseph Wolf to make additional renovations.  The changes, including converting part of the building to a stable for the New York Fire-Proof Stabling Company, cost Fischer the equivalent of $195,000 today.

Fischer preserved the school's auditorium.  It became home to St. James's Presbyterian Church with its all-Black congregation.  Its pastor, Rev. P. Butler Thompkins, explained in the New York Observer on October 13, 1898, "Instead of the old 'Tenderloin,' we now have 'Little Africa,' for this has become the great centre of our colored population."  The article said, "This entire district is without a church of any denomination for these people, except St. James's Church, which was organized by the Presbytery of New York, April 26, 1895."  It noted, "The hall, 213 West Thirty-second-st., in which the congregation is now holding services, is in the same building with a stable.  The ventilation is poor, the odor is bad, and the rent is high."

Three years later, St. James's Presbyterian Church was still struggling to raise funds for a permanent structure.  On December 28, 1901, The Evening Post reported,

St. James Presbyterian Church, at No. 213 West Thirty-second Street, the only church of any denomination in "Little Africa" that ministers solely to the colored people, is still without a church edifice.  Thirty-four thousand dollars in cash and subscriptions has been raised.  Sixteen thousand dollars must be secured within the next five days, that is, by January 1, or a very large part of the $34,000 already secured will be lost to the work.

The deadline mentioned in the article was very real.  The church was about to be evicted at the end of its lease.  A month earlier, on November 26, The New York Times reported that Benedict Fischer's son, William H., had sold the building, calling it a "five-story stable."

The property sat within land that Alexander Cassatt was quietly amassing.  On December 11, 1901, he announced the "New York Terminal and Tunnel Extension Project."  The greatly abused Manhattan Academy building was erased as part of the massive venture that would bring trains directly into Manhattan from New Jersey and would include the masterful McKim, Mead & White-designed Pennsylvania Station.  

The Lost Madison Avenue Baptist Church - 131 Madison Avenue

 

 photo by Byron Company, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

 

Organized in 1838, in 1849 the Rose Hill Church changed its name to the Lexington Avenue Baptist Church.  Three years later, in 1852, the congregation moved into a newly built brick structure at 154 Lexington Avenue, at the corner of 30th Street.  Its residency would be short-lived.  In 1859, the Lexington Avenue Baptist Church began construction of a new building at the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and 31st Street.

Architect Henry C. Dudley's Gothic Revival design exhibited influences of the Sicilian Romanesque and Tuscan styles.  The centered entrance sat within a projecting portico below a large rose window.  Two asymmetrical bell towers rose high above the Murray Hill mansions in the neighborhood.

from the collection of the New York Public Library

According to the 1866 Practice Reports, the building "cost, including the lot and an organ...the sum of about one hundred and twenty-two thousand dollars."  The figure would translate to about $4.48 million in 2025.  By May 1860, the congregation moved into the uncompleted structure and changed its name to the Madison Avenue Baptist Church.  On May 19, The New York Times reported, "The Vestry of the Madison-avenue Baptist church (corner of Thirty-first street) will be opened to-morrow at 10 1/2 A.M.; preaching by Rev. Dr. Hague."

The building was dedicated on January 6, 1861.  The organ that was included in Practice Reports figures was built by Henry Urban, one of the most respected organ builders in the country.  On February 13, 1861, The New-York Tribune reported, "A concert will be given this evening in the Madison Avenue Baptist Church, at which the capabilities of the very fine organ of the church will be shown for the first time."

On April 12, 1861, four months after the church was dedicated, the first shot in the Civil War was fired.  The congregation quickly showed its patriotism.  The "ladies of the church" met on April 28 to discuss how they could help the cause.  The New York Times reported, "as a great many persons were making lint [the linen or cotton material used for dressing wounds] and bandages...they [will] confine their efforts to making up flannel garments and wrappers."  And the following week, on May 5, the New-York Tribune reported, "A splendid flag was raised on the tower of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church, corner of Thirty-first street and Madison avenue, yesterday afternoon at 6 o'clock, with appropriate ceremonies."

While the wealthy, white congregation fully supported the Union's cause, the members were less comfortable with that cause getting too close to home.  A member named Howell attempted to purchase a pew but was refused.  He sued the church in the fall of 1862.  The New-York Tribune reported on November 22 that the church explained that Howell, "had purposely annoyed the congregation by sending negroes into the pew."  The court sided with the Madison Avenue Baptist Church.

photo by Byron Company, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

The congregation merged with the Oliver Street Baptist Church in 1862.  Included in the negotiations (which apparently the trustees of the Oliver Street Baptist Church did not closely examine) was the transfer of that church's assets to the Madison Avenue Baptist Church.  The amiable alliance fell apart when the former Oliver Street congregation tried to sell $5,000 worth of Poughkeepsie city bonds and discovered they no longer owned them.

A highly visible, 14-year-long court battle resulted.  On February 2, 1873, the New York Herald reported that Judge Sedgwick of the Superior Court had decided in favor of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church.  The decision did not repair the schism within the congregation, but only worsened it.  The Baptist Encyclopaedia said, 

The old and honored Oliver Street church had united with the Madison Avenue church, but when the courts decided that the Oliver Street church was not legally the owner of the church property, the latter withdrew with Dr. [Joseph F.] Elder, and are now building a church edifice which promises to be in all respects quite equal to the spacious and beautiful house which they left in Madison Avenue.

In 1876, the church was closed "for repairs," as worded by The New York Times.  In fact, the work was more about redecorating.  On December 11, 1877, The New York Times said that the church "was thrown open last evening for the inspection of the public, and was visited by a large number of ladies and gentlemen, all of whom expressed themselves well pleased with the new and tasteful appearance of the interior of the edifice."  The article said that $12,000 was spent in the "redecorating and refitting the church."  It described:

The apex of the chancel arch is painted a torquois [sic] blue, with gilt stars, and the grand arch, over the body of the church, is an azure blue.  All the frescoing is on solid wood, or plaster of Paris, and the gilding of the finest gold leaf.  The organ has been repainted and redecorated, and put in thorough order, under the supervision of Mr. Henry Erbin [sic], its original builder.

Rev. Dr. C. D. W. Bridgman became pastor of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in March 1877.  His sermon on February 15, 1891 sparked a firestorm when he included the Bible passage: "If thy hand offend thee, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands, to go into hell."  Baptist theology rejected the possibility of Christians' going to hell following Christ's promise of redemption.  Despite having served as "its popular pastor," as described by the New-York Tribune, for 14 years, the newspaper titled an article on April 30, 1891, "Dr. Bridgman Resigns / A Question Of Doctrine The Cause."

photographer unknown, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York

Bridgman's resignation initiated a list of short-lived pastorships.  In February 1901, his successor, Rev. Dr. H. M. Sanders resigned, saying, "he thought a younger man ought to take his place," reported the New-York Tribune.

He was replaced by Rev. George C. Lorimer, who died in Aix-les Bains on September 8, 1904.  The Rev. Dr. Kerr Boyce Tupper accepted the pastorship on May 22, 1905.  He was replaced by Dr. Charles A. Eaton, who resigned in February 1918 to accept the "leadership of the national service section of the United States Shipping Board."  His politically-charged last sermon here on April 27 condemned Germany and the U.S. President.  A headline in The Sun read, "Dr. Eaton Consigns Germany To Hell," and the article said, "Speaking for the last time at the Madison Avenue Baptist Church, which he is leaving, the pastor accused the President of 'squirting rosewater at the Germans.'"

Eaton was replaced with the Rev. Dr. George Caleb Moor, but his tenure, as well, would be short.  In 1922, a group of members accused him "of immorality" with "an eighteen-year-old girl," according to the New-York Tribune on February 17.  The accusers were expelled, but they took their case to the Baptist Council.  On June 11, the New York Herald reported that they were "vindicated."  The Southern New York Baptist Association called "the situation detrimental to the church," as reported by newspaper.

At the time of the upheaval, the neighborhood around the Madison Avenue Baptist Church had changed after six decades.  Once a refined, residential enclave, it was now a bustling commercial district.  Congregations nation-wide were turning to a new concept: the skyscraper church.  Parishes replaced their churches with office or apartment buildings that incorporated worship space within the lower floors.  

In 1929, the trustees of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church leased its property to the newly formed Madison Avenue-Thirty-first Street Corporation.  The venerable church building was demolished to be replaced with the Jardine, Murdock & Wright-designed, 15-story Roger Williams Hotel, which incorporated the Madison Avenue Baptist Church.

photograph by the author

Bertram Goodhue's 1914-18 Church of St. Vincent Ferrer - 869 Lexington Av.

 

photograph by Jim Henderson

On November 10, 1867, the Dominican Fathers (described as the "fathers of the white-robed order," by The Evening World), laid the cornerstone for a brick chapel and school at the northeast corner of Lexington Avenue and 65th Street.  It was the first of three buildings on (or near) the site for the parish of St. Vincent Ferrer.

In 1912, the congregation received renderings for its third structure.  Most of the Gothic Revival designs included soaring spires and were reportedly rejected as being, "approximately a miniature of St. Patrick's Cathedral."  The commission was given to Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue--his first substantial ecclesiastical work after the recent dissolution of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson.

The existing building sat north of the priory, which was built on the site of the original chapel in 1879.  The church was demolished in 1914.  (The congregation moved into a temporary structure on East 67th Street--a situation that would last for four years.)  Goodhue's plan--a Latin Cross configuration in the Gothic style--closely adhered to Dominican traditions, especially in the exterior iconography.

Four years after ground was broken, on April 29, 1918, The Sun reported that the dedication of "the beautiful new Church of St. Vincent Ferrer" would be held on May 5.  Calling the edifice "magnificent," the article said, "Before the very last touches have been put to it, the church will have cost about $1,500,000.  The windows are the largest in any church in the United States."  (The figure would translate to $30.3 million in 2025.)

The dedication ceremony of what The Sun called "probably the largest parish church in America" was impressive.  It was celebrated by Cardinal John Murphy Farley and assisted by Archbishop Bonzano, Apostolic Delegate to the United States, and other dignitaries.  The article said, "An orchestra of forty-five pieces from the New York Symphony Orchestra, a men's choir of twenty voices and a vested choir of sixty-five boys sang at both services."  Additionally, tenor Giovanni Martinelli and baritone Mario Laurenti from the Metropolitan Opera were soloists.

Goodhue had created an architectural masterpiece faced in rough-cut granite and trimmed in limestone.  The 1927 Handbook to Catholic Historical New York City would call the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, "The finest example of modern Gothic architecture in the city."  Architecture and Building said, "Lovers of the beautiful, the artistic and the old, owe a great debt to the Dominican Fathers attached to the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, of New York, as well as to Mr. Goodhue, the architect."  The major sculptural decoration was the work of Lee O. Lawrie, described by Architecture and Building as "one of America's greatest ecclesiastical sculptors."

Architecture and Building, July 1919, (copyright expired)

The magazine noted, "the most interesting feature of this church building is the attention which has been paid in the design, ornamentation and decoration thereof, as well as in the use of symbols, to the traditions peculiar to the Dominican Order."  In the tympanum of the entrance was a carving of St. Vincent Ferrer.  Architecture and Building explained, "This image...will be flanked by his symbols, consisting of the dog and devil's head, and St. Francis, founder of the Franciscans with his symbols, the Lamb and the Wolf."  The arch directly above was full of symbolism.  "The arch label ends with two figures representing the Old and New Dispensations.  St. Veronica, holding the Veil with the imprint of Christ's face thereon represented the New, and a partially veiled head represents the Old," said the article.

Highly unusual was the Crucifix, or Rood, "very boldly chiselled [sic]," according to the article, that dominated the center of the arch.  It remains one of the few exterior depictions of the Crucifixion in an American Catholic church today.  Goodhue had designed the great west rose window so that all the subjects in the stained glass were right side up.  

Carved into the octagonal turrets were figures of Art, Science and Philosophy "in the persons of members of the Dominican Order, with whom these particular branches of learning are identified," explained O. H. Murray, of Bertram G. Goodhue Associates.

Architecture and Building, July 1919, (copyright expired)

The interior was cathedral-like.  To the sides were chapels--the Lady Chapel, the Chapels of St. Joseph and St. Patrick, the Chapel of the Sacred Heart; and the Dominican Friars' Chapel.  O. H. Murray explained that the St. Joseph and St. Patrick chapels were "closed off from the aisle by beautiful examples of wrought-iron grilles and gates."

This Spanish Gothic screen was executed by master metalworker Samuel Yellin.  The International Studio, November 1921 (copyright expired)

Interestingly, the dedication ceremony was not the first large event to take place in the newly completed church.  Just over a month earlier, on March 30, 1918, the funeral for Martin John Sheridan, "famous athlete and policeman," as described by The Sun, had been held here.  The newspaper said, "though the church is a large one it was barely large enough to hold the host of friends who had turned out to pay their last tribute to the hero of many a hard fought battle won."  Among those who packed the sanctuary that afternoon were, "women and children, including policemen and firemen, Judges and one former Governor of New York State--men of all walks of life."

Born in Ireland in 1881, Sheridan had participated in the 1904 and the 1908 Olympic Games, winning three gold medals in the discus throw.  He served with the New York City Police Department from 1902 until his death on March 27, 1918 when he succumbed to the Spanish Influenza the day before his 37th birthday.  

photograph by Bestbudbrian

A three-day celebration of St. Vincent Ferrer in 1919 terminated in a solemn pontifical high mass on April 6, celebrated by Archbishop Patrick J. Hayes.  The New-York Tribune reported, "The occasion attracted more people than the new Gothic church would hold."  The article said, "The solemnity of the mass was especially impressive to the worshippers who crowded into the nave and chancel of the church, built after the mediaeval design of the old monastic order."

Another impressive funeral was that of Thomas M. Farley, former Sheriff of New York County and Tammany leader, which was held here on April 7, 1934.   The New York Times reported, "More than 2,500 friends, relatives and Tammany Hall colleagues" attended the service.  Despite the rainy weather, thousands more crowded the avenue outside.

On September 22, 1935, a statue of Blessed Martin de Porres, beatified by Pope Gregory XVI in 1837, was unveiled here.  A movement was underway at the time for his canonization.  In an interesting example of the inherent racism of the times, the headline in The New York Times read, "Statue Is Unveiled For Catholic Negro."

The reredos and the Great East Window.  photograph by Bestbudbrian

The Church of St. Vincent Ferrer was, of course, routinely the scene of impressive funerals and weddings.  One that, perhaps, stood out was the marriage of socialite Barbara Cecile Hoge and Prince Ivan Peter Obolensky on February 4, 1950.  The bride, said The New York Times, was "a descendant of William Hoge, who came to this country from Scotland early in the seventeenth century [and] of Alexander Hoge, Gen. James Hoge, prominent Virginians; Gov. Hoge Tyler of that state and John Otis, brother of James Otis, Revolutionary patriot."

The groom, said the article, was "a brother of Prince Alexander Obolensky, is a nephew of Princess Alexis Obolensky, Prince Vladimir Troubetzkoy, Prince Nicholas Troubetzkoy and Countess Nicholas Lansdorff."  Prince Sergei Obolensky, Prince Alexis Obolensky, and Prince Kyril Galitzine were among the wedding party.

photograph by Jim Henderson

More than a century after Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue deemed it his best work in the ecclesiastical field, the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer remains one of Manhattan's most striking and important Gothic style structures.

The 1891 Olivet Memorial Church - 59-63 East Second Street

 

In 1855, the Olivet Memorial Church was established on East Second Street, between First and Second Avenues.  The refined residential neighborhood in which it sat, however, was already seeing change, as waves of German immigrants poured into the district.  That year, New York City had the third largest German population in the world--outranked only by Berlin and Vienna.  The demographics affected the Olivet Memorial Church, as well.  In 1891, The New York Times recalled that in 1867:

When that portion of the city where it is situated changed its character as regards to the nationality of its population, it was determined to make it largely a mission church, and it was placed under the care of the New-York City Mission and Tract Society.

The newspaper explained that the Olivet Mission at the time, "stood back from the street and was accessible only by an alleyway."  On April 26, 1885, The New York Times described, "Olivet Mission, situated in one of the most densely populated German quarters of the city, is the centre of a wide and varied system of practical and intelligent work among the poor."  Its outreach included an Industrial School where boys learned manual crafts and girls were taught domestic skills like cooking and sewing.

In 1890, A. K. Ely, "who was interested in the church," according to The New York Times on December 28, 1891, "purchased the lots in front [of the mission]...and Mr. D. H. McAlpin and Mrs. Pyle, his sister, gave $65,000 for the new church building."  The commission was given to the architectural firm of J. C. Cady & Co., founded by Josiah Cleaveland Cady.

Completed in December 1891, the church was clad in undressed Kentucky limestone.  Unlike many Gothic Revival churches of the period, with airy spires and bell towers, Olivet Memorial Church presented a somewhat fortress presence, with full-height crenulated turrets that divided the severely rectangular facade into three bays.  The square-headed openings of the first floor gave way to striking Gothic windows at the second that rose to dramatic points decorated with crockets.  The top floor morphed to Romanesque with the windows forming regimented arcades.

Two boys play on the otherwise deserted sidewalk across from the church on May 9, 1934.  from the collection of the New York Public Library.

The Olivet Memorial Church opened on December 27, 1891.  The New York Times commented, "Indeed, in many respects it resembles the new buildings in England that are being built in harmony with the forward movement there."  The article described, "it has been treated in so pronounced an architectural style, and has such pleasing features of decoration and fitting, that it is not surpassed in beauty by any of the more costly churches in town."

The auditorium accommodated about 1,000 people, "in view of the pulpit," said The Times, adding, "there are fourteen handsome class rooms, five halls for large classes, and a gymnasium about 50 by 70 feet."  There were, as well, rooms for the teachers and workers and an apartment for the janitor.  Calling it "a practical building," it was designed not only for church services, but for instruction, "secular, industrial and religious."

Among the "industrial" spaces in the building was "the great sewing room," as described by The Evening World, where local women and girls worked at needlework.  On April 13, 1895, the newspaper remarked, "there is a cheery hopefulness in their worn faces, for they are earning 15 cents an hour with their needles, and the 15 cents buys double its value in the made-up garments they turn out."  (The 153 women did not receive cash money, but credit to buy the finished clothing.)  The article said, "each of them is wed to poverty, and but for the two or three hours spent in the great sewing-room each week they and their loved ones could never have aprons, undergarments, sheets and pillow cases, which they are able to earn in this way."

Women working in the Sewing Room.  The Evening World, April 13, 1895 (copyright expired)

The Lower East Side continued to attract immigrants from various European countries.  On December 5, 1895, The Sun noted that at the Olivet Memorial Church, "services in English, German, and Armenian are conducted."

Women and children in the tenements could look forward to one day away from their drudgery each year.  Churches of the Lower East Side annually hosted an excursion to a picnic grounds where members enjoyed music, food and games.  Because the men had to work, the excursions were almost entirely made up of women and children.

On July 21, 1905, 500 women and children from the Olivet Memorial Church lined up on the dock to board the iron steamboat Sirius to go to Huntington Harbor, Long Island.  The vessel would have 50 men aboard, including the crew and band.  Everyone in line assuredly knew that this was the very same dock which, a year earlier, women and children from St. Luke's German Lutheran Church lined up to board the General Slocum.  That excursion ended tragically, with the General Slocum burning to the water line and 1,000 passengers killed.

As the Sirius neared North Brother Island, where the General Slocum disaster had occurred, a "screw boat," the W. G. Payne, forced the Sirius off course and into the rocks.  The Sun reported, "The grinding as the Sirius went aground scared her passengers, and a moment later, when the boat suddenly stopped, men, women and children were thrown from their camp stools.  The band was playing, and it stopped suddenly."

As panic began to sweep throughout the crowd, according to The Sun, "Then some one with horse sense ordered the band to get busy, and the music acted like magic."  Captain William Pierce got the vessel off the rocks, but it was rapidly taking on water.  He beached the Sirius on the mud flats to prevent it from sinking.  The Evening World praised, "A few moments' hesitation, an unsteady hand at the wheel, and the steamer would have gone to the bottom, carrying hundreds of dead with her."  The passengers were offloaded from the disabled vessel, and while the steamboat company offered a substitute boat to continue to the Long Island Sound, "none of them felt in any mood to continue on the voyage," said The Evening World.

Dressed in white, this Vacation Bible School of Olivet Memorial Church graduated in the auditorium on August 24, 1905.  Federation magazine, April 1906 (copyright expired)

The Olivet Memorial Church continued its work in the neighborhood until 1942, when it merged with the Middle Collegiate Church at Second Avenue and 7th Street.  A few months later, on January 22, 1943, The New York Times reported that "the old stone building at 59-63 Second Street" had been sold by the New York City Mission Society to the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of North America.

"The church now will be known as the Pro-Cathedral, and will house the Cathedral Church and the executive offices of the chancery of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church," explained the article.  Prior to the Russian Revolution, the episcopal seat in New York City was St. Nicholas Cathedral on East 97th Street.  After the change of government, a battle erupted between the Most Reverend Metropolitan Planton and the Soviet Government.  The Soviets won.

On November 21, 1926, The New York Times reported, “Trinity Episcopal Parish has turned over to Archbishop Platon, deposed Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, and to the thousands of New York Russians who remained faithful to him, one-half of St. Augustine's Chapel, 105 East Houston Street, for a Russian Cathedral”  The parish worshiped there until finding a permanent home here.  The former Olivet Memorial Church was rechristened the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection.  The interior was redecorated in traditional Byzantine style, including bold colors and iconography.  

As had been the case with the Olivet Memorial Church a century earlier, the services here were not only in English.  On January 6, 1964, the Slavic Christmas Eve, The New York Times reported, "At the Metropolitan's cathedral, the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection, 59 East Second Street, there will be a Slavonic service tonight at 7 o'clock and an English one at midnight."

Two years later, on October 27, 1966, The Villager reported on an upcoming three-day bazaar.  The article said in part, "Times changed; buildings were torn down; the parish dwindled, a familiar situation with urban churches.  But the cathedral remains, and continues to be the episcopal seat, and as such, it has to sustain a choir, clergy, servets, and staff, which have been increasingly difficult to finance.  That is why the coming bazaar is being held."

Despite the changes in the neighborhood--or because of them--nearly a century after the parish moved into the building, the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection continues to be an important presence in its community.  Its website says, "Though founded by immigrants from the former Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires, our parish membership is ethnically diverse including a large contingent of Georgians, and nearly 40 percent of our members are adult converts to the Orthodox faith."

many thanks to historian Anthony Bellov for suggesting this post

photographs by the author

The Edward J. O'Brien House - 313 West 80th Street

Developer Bernard S. Levy was prolific on the Upper West Side in the last decades of the 19th century.  He created long rows of residences as well as several "flat," or apartment buildings.  In 1894 he started on another project--a row of six houses on West 80th Street, just steps from elegant Riverside Drive.

Given the upscale neighborhood filled with spacious mansions, Levy's decision to squeeze six homes into the property is a bit surprising.   While other developers may have filled the parcel with four 25-foot wide mansions, Levy's six residences were 16- and 18-feet wide.

But what the homes lacked in width they made up for in architectural charisma.  Architect Charles Israels designed them in the Gothic Revival style.  Their rough-cut stone bases upheld three floors of beige Roman brick.  Israels configured them in an A-B-A-A-B-A pattern, the A models boasting angled oriels at the second floor and sharp gables at the fourth.  The houses were replete with stained glass.  It filled the first and second floor transoms, and announced the street number above the doorway.

Bernard Levy priced the houses at $24,500 to $26,000--the higher price equal to about $807,000 in 2023.  A brochure described:

On the low stoop entrance plan, with dining room, butler's pantry and kitchen on the same floor.  Two bathrooms, exposed plumbing, parlors in red mahogany, dining rooms quarter oak, second story oak, third and fourth stories ash, 17 rooms in each house.
 

Among the A models was 313 West 80th Street.  In June 1895 Levy sold it to Edward J. O'Brien and his wife, the former Nellie C. Mulgrew.  O'Brien was a member of M. O'Brien & Son, founded by his father Michael in 1852.  The New York Hotel Record called the firm "the well-known purveyors of first-class vegetables" and "one of the oldest firms in business in New York."

The O'Briens enjoyed a merchant class lifestyle.  On January 30, 1897, for instance, The Evening Telegram announced, "Mr. and Mrs. E. J. O'Brien, after an extended tour through Canada and the States, have returned to their New York residence, No. 313 West Eightieth street."  And on September 6, 1903 the New York Herald reported, "Mr. and Mrs. J. O'Brien and their granddaughter, Miss Cecelia A. Stallman, have returned from a stay in the North Woods."  (The O'Briens' daughter Mary A. O'Brien was married to Arthur C. Stallman.)

Nellie C. O'Brien died of pneumonia on January 8, 1907.  Her funeral was held in Holy Trinity Church on West 82nd Street.  The pain of his wife's death may have prompted Edward to leave their West 80th Street house.  Only weeks later, on February 23, The Evening Post reported that he had sold it.

313 West 80th Street is third from left within the charming row.

The house saw a relatively quick turnover in owners.  It was offered for sale again in September 1912.  An advertisement in The New York Times noted it contained "11 rooms, 2 baths and 3 toilets."  It was purchased by J. V. W. Du Bois, who resold the house three years later to Clinton M. Cruikshank.  He sold it to a tenant, French-born harpist, pianist and composer Carlos Salzedo, in September 1919.

Famed German-American conductor Walter Damrosch had said of Salzedo, "I do not think there is a man living today who is a greater exponent of the harp than Salzedo."  He had begun studying at the Paris Conservatory at the age of nine, and won the premir prix in harp and piano at 16 years old.  He moved to the United States when he was 24, playing harp at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Salzedo had just returned from fighting in World War I when he and his wife, pianist and singer Viola Gramm, moved into 313 West 80th Street.  His fame afforded them the ability to summer at fashionable resorts.  On April 19, 1918, while still renting 313 West 80th Street, Salzedo's advertisement in Musical America read, "Special Summer Classes and private instruction on the harp, in solo and ensemble playing, at Seal Harbor, Maine."

Carlos Salzedo, Shadowland magazine, November 1922

Renting a room with the Salzedos was voice coach Clara Novello Davies.  Her advertisement in Musical Courier magazine on August 21, 1919 promised, "All can sing if they know how to breathe."  She was the mother of actor, singer, and composer Ivor Novello.

About a week before that advertisement appeared, a crisis had erupted at 313 West 80th Street.  On August 12, The Evening World reported, "Devey has deserted the hearthstones of Madame Navello [sic] Davies, a vocal instructor, No. 313 West 80th Street, and probably is associating with other dogs not in his set at all.  Devey is a small brown Griffon dog that slipped out of the Davis home on Friday and has not been heard of since despite an offer of a reward."

Clara Novello Davies, Notable Welsh Musicians of Today, December 31, 1896

A friend of Clara Davies, millionaire brewer Jacob Ruppert, placed an advertisement in the New York Tribune reading:

Lost--A small brown Griffon dog, answers to the name Devey.  Friday, at Riverside Drive and 80th st; liberal reward.  Jacob Ruppert, 1639 Third ave...or Mme. Davies 313 West 80th st.

It is unclear whether Devey was ever returned to Clara Davies.

In his book Carlos Salzedo: From Aeolian to Thunder, A Biography, author Dewey Owens writes that by the 1920's, Salzedo and Viola (whom he called Mimine) were growing apart, she spending more and more time in Europe and he having "lightly concealed liaisons."  Although they would not divorce until 1926, the domestic circumstances may have prompted Salzedo to sell 313 West 80th Street in 1922.

The New York Herald reported on August 5 that the buyer was Max Schulman, "a physician who will alter it for his occupancy."  The renovations, which apparently were limited to the ground floor, resulted in two doctor's offices.  An advertisement appeared in The New York Medical Week on September 22, 1923 offering, "For Rent--Attractive office and furnished waiting room.  Dr. M. Schulman, 313 West 80th St."

Perhaps because of its narrow proportions, just 16-feet wide, the former O'Brien house was never converted to apartments.   In 2007 a gut renovation was initiated which resulted in the interiors being "modernized to perfection," according to a realtor.  Happily, because the house sits within a historic district, the exterior was preserved.  

Restauranteur Jeffrey Lefcourt, owner of The Smith, placed it on the market in 2017 for $8.3 million.

 photographs by the author

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