50 Oldest Churches of NYC: Saint Joseph Evangelical Lutheran

Posted on by Thor

Saint Joseph Evangelical Lutheran Church at 81 Christopher Street, is in the West Village which runs from Sixth Avenue to the Hudson River, between W 14th Street and W Houston Street. Almost all of the neighborhood is protected by landmark status, preserving centuries of history. As the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission noted:

“Greenwich Village is one of the oldest sections of Manhattan which was laid out for development in the years following the American Revolution. Today, it contains the greatest concentration of early New York residential architecture to be found anywhere within the five Boroughs of the City.

The church was built in 1821,  on Christopher Street, between West Fourth and Bleecker Streets. The name of the architect has been lost, but the sophisticated design was worthy of the best of the period’s architects. The octagonal belfry above the triangular pediment was a near-match to the one found on the Newgate State Prison, that once stood four blocks away near the river, designed in 1796 by Joseph-Francois Mangin.

It was built by built by the Eighth Presbyterian Church, organized in 1819. The group worshiped in its dignified, Federal-style structure until April 1842, when they sold it to the trustees of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. Manhattan churches often closed during the hot summer months when their more affluent congregants left the city for country homes. On October 25, 1846 a newspaper notice announced its reopening, saying “St. Matthew’s Church, in Christopher street, is open for Divine worship on the evening of every Sunday, and will so continue through the ensuing winter.” In 1858 the trustees sold it to St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church for $13,000.

In 1868, the Parsonage was constructed next door, at No. 79 Christopher Street, designed by John M. Foster. Rev. Held lived here, and remained pastor of St. John’s until ill health prompted him to step down in 1879.In 1886, the congregation hired architects Berg & Clark to remodel the Parish House, giving it a new Romanesque Revival brick facade, and to touch up the church itself. A plaque within the pediments that announced Deutsche Evangelish-Lutherische St. Johannes Kirche. The broad-ranged congregation of the German-language church included tenement-dwelling immigrants and wealthy businessmen.

50 Oldest Churches of NYC: Old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral

Posted on by Thor

The Basilica of Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral, sometimes shortened to St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral or simply Old St. Patrick’s, is a Catholic parish church, basilica, and the former cathedral of the Archdiocese of New York, located on Milberry and Prince in the Nolita neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City.

The cathedral was designed by the same architect who designed New York City Hall, Joseph Francois Mangin. When completed in 1815, it was the largest Catholic church in the United States.

On April 23, 1861 there was a blessing of the colors of the “Fighting” 69th “Irish Brigade” regiment by Archbishop Hughes before the regiment set off for active duty in the Civil War. My 2nd Great Grandfather John Hickey served in the 69th and fought in the battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg and .

A fire destroyed the interior of the Old Cathedral on October 6, 1866; it was rebuilt and re-opened on St. Patrick’s Day in 1868

On March 17, 1885, the debt of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral was finally paid off, and the church was consecrated.

The Old Cathedral and associated buildings are among the first sites to be designated as New York City landmarks in1966. Campus complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.