The parish of Saint Ann’s Shrine Armenian Catholic Cathedral (120 East 12th Street, Manhattan, New York), was was organized in 1852 by Bishop Hughes, who appointed Reverend John Murray Forbes to be its first pastor.
Father Forbes purchased the former Third Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church on East 8th Street, between Broadway and Fourth Avenue. The impressive Georgian-style building had been constructed in 1811-12 on Murray Street, but when real estate grew more valuable, the Presbyterians sold the site and moved the building to 8th Street at the head of Lafayette Place in 1842. After St. Ann’s congregation vacated the edifice in 1871, the building was used as an upholstery factory and, starting in 1879, a succession of theaters until it was razed in 1904 for construction of the subway.
Sometime around 1870, St. Ann’s purchased the former Temple Emanu-El on East 12th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, which had been built in 1847 as the Twelfth Street Baptist Church. Before the Catholic congregation moved in, architect Napoleon Le Brun created a new church in the 13th century French Gothic style, retaining only the original facade. The new church was dedicated in 1871. Stained glass windows were added in the 1920s.
Cardinal Terence Cooke of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York offered St. Ann’s Church on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for use as the Armenian Catholic Cathedral. The offer was accepted and St. Ann’s Cathedral was established in 1983.
In 2002, Cardinal Edward Egan requested that the exarchate surrender the facilities at St. Ann’s. Attempts were made to save the cathedral, but in the end they had no choice but to vacate the building. It was closed in 2005. The property was sold to NYU and a dormitory now occupies the site. The front facade and tower of the former church remain, but the bulk of the building was demolished. Leaving the facade, like a Hollywood stage prop to decorate the front of the modern NYU Dorm building.