Saint Gabriel's Roman Catholic Church

St. Gabriel's Catholic Church
General information
Architectural style Norman - English
Location New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York
Completed 1893
Cost $250,000
Client Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Design and construction
Architect William Schickel

St. Gabriel's is a Roman Catholic parish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located in southern end of the city of New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York. This parish was founded in 1893 by Mrs. Adrian Iselin and family, longtime residents of New Rochelle. The church was a memorial given by Mrs. Adrian Iselin and endowed by her for the Catholics of New Rochelle.[1] St. Gabriel's was consecrated on May 28, 1893 by Michael Corrigan, then the Archbishop of New York.

The buildings of the parish are distinctly Norman-English in design. The church was built of blue granite and limestone with a steeply pitched red tile roof, and two towers with a clock and chimes. The adjacent rectory house was built in a corresponding style.

The interior features salmon colored brick walls, arched hardwood paneled ceilings and mosaic floors. The decoration of the chancel walls is in old gold and is a near perfect reproduction of the chancel of the San Marco Cathedral in Venice. The three chancel windows were designed by Franz Mayer & Co. and represent "the Saviour", "St. Francis de Sales" and "St. Margaret of Scotland". The intricately carved white marble altar is a memorial to Fannie G. Iselin.

St. Paul's features 17 impressive stained-glass windows crafted by Louis Comfort Tiffany Studios, The Gorham Company, Franz Mayer & Co. and Heaton, Butler and Bayne.[2] The Tiffany windows include "The Education Of The Virgin", "The Annunciation", "The Marriage Of Joseph And Mary" and "The Baptism of Jesus". The complete set of memorial windows were gifts of the seven Iselin children in honor of their mother.[3]

At the time of its construction, St. Gabriel's was one of the most costly houses of worship in the region. The church building, together with the rectory and a home for the Sisters of Charity, it cost $250,000.[4] Another gift was made when the Iselin's transferred its $100,000 gymnasium building and property to the parish for a school for children.[5] Mrs. Iselin would later contribute a $30,000 endowment for the continued maintenance and operation of the church.

References

  1. Walsh, M.L. (1960). The Sisters of Charity of New York, 1809-1959. New York: Fordham University Press. p. 202.
  2. "New Rochelle Rallies to Restore Church’s Stained-Glass Windows", NT Times
  3. Kennedy., June O. (2007). he stained glass windows of St. Gabriel's R. C. Church: New Rochelle, New York. Basking Ridge, N.J:.
  4. Adrian Iselin Dead at City Home, NY Times 1905
  5. "Study of a New York Suburb", Architectural Record - Vol. 5

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