The Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentine | |
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Nicholas of Tolentine RCC FR Univ jeh.jpg Photographed in 2010 |
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General information | |
Architectural style | Collegiate Gothic Gothic Revival |
Town or city | Bronx, New York City |
Country | United States of America |
Construction started | 1906 (for parochial school-over-church and rectory)[1] |
Completed |
1907 (for parochial school-over-church and rectory);[1] |
Design and construction | |
Client | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York |
Architect | Delaney, O'Connor & Schultz (for 1927 church)[2] |
The Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentine is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at Fordham Road at University Avenue, Bronx, New York City. The substantial stone twin-towered is deemed "The Cathedral of the Bronx."[3]
The parish was founded by Augustinian Friars on 22 April 1906 with the first mass occurring in a small garage on North Street near Jerome Avenue.[1] Immediately from 1906 on, construction of a permanent church with parochial buildings on Andrew Avenue and Fordham Road commenced.[1] The complex would consist of a two-storey "combination building," a parochial school-over-church building, along with a separate rectory. Monsignor J. F. Mooney, V.G. laid the cornerstone on 15 July 1906.[1] the church was dedicated by Archbishop (later Cardinal) Farley on 15 September 1907.[1] In 1914, the property was valued at $135,000.[1] By 1914, the University Avenue and Fordham Road property that the present church stands on was purchased and being prepared.[1] The present Collegiate Gothic church structure was built 1927 to the designs of Delaney, O'Connor & Schultz.[2] The building has been incorrectly dated by other sources to the 1950s[3] and early 1900s.[4]
On March 5, 2010, a suspicious two-alarm blaze filled the sanctuary with flames and smoke. "The fire started in a former confessional-turned-storage room in the vestibule of the church, blocking the main entrance."[3] The Rev. Joseph Girone evacuated worshipers through the rectory after principal exits were blocked.[3] Some firemen were injured from a falling plaster ceiling.[3] FDNY Deputy Chief Kevin Scanlon called the fire "suspicious" that "accelerated rapidly [and] it was a heavy fire that didn't have the normal flow of a fire."[3] A string of arson attacks against Bronx churches had recently claimed the Glory of Christ Church (Parkchester, New York) in December 2009.[3] Despite the fire, church services were resumed at the parish school's gym, adjacent to the church.[4]
The parish is still staffed by the Augustinian Fathers.
The parochial school, which opened in 1907, was run by the Augustinian Fathers and the Sisters of Charity.[1] In 1914, the school was run by 2 Sisters of Charity and 1 lay teacher. The school had 45 male and 45 female pupils.[1] The original school was over the church, and took over the whole building when the present church building was completed in 1927.[1] The school has around 376 students from pre-kindergarten to eight grade.[5]