| Church of the Ascension | |
|---|---|
| ChurchAscension107St.jpg | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Sicilian Romanesque of the Norman and Byzantine hybrid style |
| Town or city | Manhattan, New York City |
| Country | United States of America |
| Construction started | church: 1896[1] school: 1911[2] dwelling house: 1927[2] |
| Completed | church: 1897[1] |
| Cost | school: $120,000[2] dwelling house: $100,000[2] |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Masonry |
| Design and construction | |
| Client | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York |
| Architect | church: Schickel & Ditmars[1] parish school: F. A. de Meuron[2] dwelliing house: Robert J. Reilly[2] |
The Church of the Ascension is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 221 West 107th Street Manhattan, New York City, in the Manhattan Valley section of the Upper West Side. It was established in 1895.
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The elaborate midblock church, located on 107th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, has an attached parish house, both designed in the Sicilian Romanesque of the Norman and Byzantine hybrid style and built between 1896 and 1897 to the designs by the esteemed American of German descent Roman Catholic church-building architectural firm of Schickel & Ditmars.[1] The parish has a four-storey brick and stone parochial school built by P. J. Brennan & Son, builders, in 1911 to designs by architect F. A. de Meuron of 31 East 27th Street for $120,000.[2] A five-storey brick dwelling house was erected at 218 West 108th Street in 1927 to the designs by architect Robert J. Reilly of 12 E 41st Street for $100,000.[2] The church was renovated in 1939.[1]
The Müller & Abel organ and organ case was built in 1898. Around 1900, a used two-manual pipe organ was installed in the Lower Church. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located.[1] During 1939 renovations of the lower church, a new two-manual pipe organ was installed in 1939 by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts, and replaced the Müller & Abel organ. "Sometime after 1970, the chapel was closed and the organ was removed."[1]
The church has been the filming location for films and television shows, including as Trinity Church in the "Book of Hours" episode from the first season of White Collar (2009).[3]
The church website states about its outreach: "No matter your age, your race, your gender, or your sexual orientation, there is a place for you at Ascension....Come as you are, be who you are – your presence will enrich us."[4]