All Saints Church (Manhattan)

All Saints Roman Catholic Church
(2008)
General information
Architectural style	Gothic Revival Venetian Gothic [1]
Town or city	New York, New York
Country	United States
Construction started	1886
Completed	1889 [2]
Client	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Design and construction
Architect(s)	James Renwick Jr. [1]
Website
All Saints Catholic Church, New York (archived)

The Church of All Saints is a historic former Catholic church in the Archdiocese of New York, located at 47 East 129th Street, at the corner of Madison Avenue in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

Built from 1883 to 1886 ^[2] and designed by architects Renwick, Aspinwall and Russell – but attributed by historian Michael Henry Adams directly to James Renwick Jr. ^[3] – the church complex includes a parish house (1886–89) as well as a school (1902) designed by Renwick's nephew, ^[3] William W. Renwick. ^[2]

The complex was designated a New York City landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in January 2007. ^{[1] [4]}

On May 8, 2015, the parish was merged with that of St. Charles Borromeo, ^[5] and on June 30, 2017, the church was deconsecrated. ^[6]

On January 23, 2021, the New York Post reported that the complex was to be sold, ^[7] and a final sale at $11M was announced by Fr Greg Chisholm, SJ on April 1. ^[8]

History

The parish was established in October 1879, under the supervision of the Rev. (later Monsignor) James W. Power, a native of Ireland, who was its first pastor. ^[9] The parish was originally intended for the neighborhood's Irish immigrants. As the neighborhood changed, the parish became predominantly African American and Nigerian. ^[1] It was last staffed by the Franciscan Friars.

The school

Building

All Saints is known as the "St. Patrick's of Harlem" ^[3] because of its size and design, the Gothic Revival, or alternatively Venetian Gothic, brick church with terracotta trimming was dedicated in 1893. ^[1] The design is festooned with rose windows in the clerestory and a prominent bell tower. "The vaulted interior is also rich in details, including comfortable hand-carved pews, murals and stained glass." ^[1]

School

The parish school was built by Power soon after the church, and was initially run by the Christian Brothers of Ireland, who were brought by him to educate the children of Irish immigrants, and the Sisters of Charity of New York. The school's enrollment in its early years reached almost 2,000 students, mostly girls. Within the parish, the Sisters also operated All Saints Academy, which taught 120 high school students, and the Brothers operated All Hallows Collegiate Institute for boys. Additionally, a Home for Working Girls was run by the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. ^[9]

The organ

All Saints School was among 27 schools closed by Archbishop Dolan in the Archdiocese of New York on 11 January 2011. ^{[10] [11]}

Organ

American organ builder Frank Roosevelt of Roosevelt Organ Works built the company's last organ (Op. 525) for All Saints in 1892. ^[12] In 1931, Welte-Tripp Organ Corp. electrified and enlarged the organ, adding a solo division in the triforium and a new console (in addition to various tonal modifications). ^[13] In February 2021 the organ was acquired by St. Paul the Apostle Church. ^[14]

References

Notes

1. Church of All Saints (Roman Catholic) New York City Organ Website
2. White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19538-386-7. p.536
3. 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.11
4. "Church of All Saints (Roman Catholic), Parish House and School" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
5. Dolan, Timothy Michael (May 8, 2015) "Decree on Merger of the Parish of Saint Charles Borromeo, New York, NY and the Parish of All Saints, New York, NY" Office of the Cardinal, Archdiocese of New York
6. Dolan, Timothy Michael (June 30, 2017) "Decree on the Relegation of the Church of All Saints in the Parish Saint Charles of Borromeo-Resurrection-All Saints, New York" Office of the Cardinal, Archdiocese of New York
7. Klein, Melissa (2021-01-23). "Historic All Saints Church in Harlem to be sold". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
8. Garber, Nick (2021-03-31). "Historic Harlem Church Is Sold To Developer, Pastor Says". Harlem, NY Patch. Archived from the original on 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
9. Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg Together with some Supplementary Articles on Religious Communities of Women. . (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p. 309.
10. McQuillan, Alice (11 January 2011). "New York Archdiocese to Close 27 Schools". NBC New York . Retrieved 7 February 2011.
11. "Reconfiguration Committee Recommendations Regarding "At-Risk" Schools Accepted By Archdiocese Of New York" (Press release). Archdiocese of New York. 11 January 2011. Archived from the original on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
12. "Pipe Organ Database | Frank Roosevelt (Opus 525, 1892) All Saints R.C. Church". Pipe Organ Database. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
13. "Pipe Organ Database | Welte-Tripp Organ Corporation (Opus 317, 1931) All Saints R.C. Church". Pipe Organ Database. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
14. "The Roosevelt Organ Project". 23 July 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2021.

External links

• Archived Official Home Page, The Roman Catholic Church of All Saints, Archdiocese of New York

40°48′30″N73°56′18″W / 40.80833°N 73.93833°W / 40.80833; -73.93833