St. James Roman Catholic Church (Manhattan)

St. James' Roman Catholic Church

(2007)
Location 32 James Street
Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates 40°42′44″N 73°59′55″W / 40.71222°N 73.99861°W / 40.71222; -73.99861Coordinates: 40°42′44″N 73°59′55″W / 40.71222°N 73.99861°W / 40.71222; -73.99861
Built 1835-37
Architect attributed to Minard Lafever[1]
Architectural style Greek Revival
NRHP Reference # 72000884[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP July 24, 1972
Designated NYCL January 18, 1966

St. James' Roman Catholic Church is located at 32 James Street between St. James Place and Madison Street in the Two Bridges neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City.[3] It is the second oldest Roman Catholic building in the city, built in 1835-37 of fieldstone, with a pair of Doric columns flanking the entrance.[1][4] While the neo-Classical church is modeled on the published designs by Minard Lefever, and is sometimes attributed to him, there is no hard evidence of this being true.[1][5] The building was once topped by a domed cupola.[5]

Alfred E. Smith served as an altar boy at this church[5] when he was a student at its parochial school, the former St. James Elementary School, located across the street.

The church was ordered to be closed by New York City officials in 1983, because of the danger of its roof collapsing.[5] It was scheduled to be torn down in 1986, but was saved by the efforts of the community, especially the Ancient Order of Hibernians,[3] the first branch of which was organized in the church in 1836.[5] The building suffered significant damage in a fire on January 11, 2011.[6]

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S. (text); Postal, Matthew A. (text) (2009), Postal, Matthew A., ed., Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.), New York: John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1, p.45
  2. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. 1 2 White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot & Leadon, Fran (2010), AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.), New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780195383867, p.89
  4. ↑ Catholic Editing Company (1914). The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. New York: Catholic Editing Company. p. 336.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Dunlap, David W. (2004). From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12543-7., p.210-11
  6. ↑ Cunningham, Jennifer H. and Paddock, Barry. "Firefighters Save Historic Manhattan Church," New York Daily News (January 11, 2011)


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