First Church of Christ, Scientist (New York City)

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First Church of Christ, Scientist
New York City Landmark  No. LP-0833
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Former building of the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Manhattan, New York City
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Location1 West 96th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Coordinates 40°47′31.2″N73°57′53.64″W / 40.792000°N 73.9649000°W / 40.792000; -73.9649000
Built1903
Architect Carrère and Hastings
Architectural style English Baroque, French Beaux-Arts
Part of Central Park West Historic District (ID82001189 [1] )
NYCL No.LP-0833
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 9, 1982 [1]
Designated NYCLJuly 23, 1974 [2]

The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Manhattan is a 1903 building located at Central Park West and 96th Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The building is a designated New York City landmark. [3]

Contents

Architecture

The building, designed by Carrère & Hastings, was completed in 1903, is described by New York Times architectural historian Christopher Gray as "one of the city's most sumptuous churches." [4] The style reminiscent of the churches of Nicholas Hawksmoor, a combination of English Baroque and French Beaux-Arts detailing. The building featured stained-glass windows by John LaFarge. The window over the front door was named "Touch Me Not" and was based on John 20:17, depicting Jesus' encounter with Mary Magdalene outside the tomb. [5]

It featured mosaics, gold-plated chandeliers, marble floors, curved pews made of Circassian walnut, and elevators called "moving rooms" because they were large enough to hold 20 people. [4] [5]

The church was designated a New York City landmark in 1974, and is a contributing property to the federally designated Central Park West Historic District. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Building use

In 2004 the building was sold to the Crenshaw Christian Center and the Christian Science congregation merged with the congregation of the Second Church of Christ, Scientist. [4] [10] [5]

In June 2014, after almost ten years in the building, the Crenshaw Christian Center sold the building to 361 Central Park L.L.C. for $26 million. The new owner planned to convert the 47,000-square-foot structure to condominiums. [5] However, the condominium plan was rejected by the zoning appears board. In January 2018 the Children's Museum of Manhattan announced that it had acquired the building. [11] In June 2020 the renovation plan was approved by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission. [12]

Congregation

The congregation was organized in 1886 by Augusta Emma Stetson. The congregation gave Stetson the lot adjacent to the Church on West 96th St, where she lived in a neo-Georgian house. Stetson's house was demolished in 1930, replaced by a "mild(ly) Art Deco" apartment building designed by Thomas W. Lamb. [4]

The congregation met in rented space before construction of the church. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  3. "New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Gray, Christopher (15 February 2004). "The First and Second Churches of Christ, Scientist; A Tale of 2 Warring Churches, and of One Woman". New York Times. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Barron, James (26 September 2014). "A Difficult Passage from Church to Condominium". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  6. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission; Dolkart, Andrew S.; Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.). Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-0-470-28963-1., pp.145-146
  7. White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot (2000). AIA Guide to New York City (4th ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN   978-0-8129-3107-5., p.366
  8. 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., pp.74-74
  9. "About Us" Archived 2016-10-24 at the Wayback Machine on the Crenshaw Christian Center East website
  10. Gray, Christopher. "Streetscapes: First Church of Christ, Scientist; 2 Congregations Unite, and No. 2 Becomes No. 1". New York Times (December 25, 2005)
  11. "Children's Museum Plans to Move Into Historic Church Building on Central Park West". West Side Rag. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  12. Gunts, Edward (12 June 2020). "FXCollaborative wins approval to convert Carrère and Hastings church into children's museum". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved 5 August 2020.