First Church of Christ, Scientist | |
Location | 1 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 |
Built | 1903 |
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 NRHP | November 9, 1982 [1] |
Designated NYCL | July 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]
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]
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 former First Church of Christ, Scientist, building. [11] [12] The church building cost $45 million, and the city provided $5.5 million for a renovation of the church. [12] FXCollaborative was hired to renovate the church. [13] The original plan for the church was controversial, as residents opposed the addition of a penthouse on the roof and the removal of windows, [14] but FXCollaborative's proposal was ultimately approved in June 2020. [15] [16] The museum publicly presented renderings of the renovated church building in 2020. [17] [18] As of 2024 [update] , the museum was planning to relocate in 2028. [19]
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]
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harlem area encompasses several other neighborhoods and extends west and north to 155th Street, east to the East River, and south to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Central Park, and East 96th Street.
Trinity Church is a historic parish in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, whose church is located at 89 Broadway opposite Wall Street, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its centuries of history, prominent location, distinguished architecture and bountiful endowment, Trinity's congregation is said to be "high church", its activities based on the traditions of the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion in missionary outreach, and fellowship. In addition to its main church, Trinity parish maintains two chapels: St. Paul's Chapel, and the Chapel of St. Cornelius the Centurion on Governors Island. The Church of the Intercession, the Trinity Chapel Complex and many other of Manhattan's Episcopal congregations were once part of Trinity parish. Columbia University was founded on the church's grounds as King's College in 1754.
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Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings, was an American architecture firm specializing in Beaux-Arts architecture. Located in New York City, the firm practiced from 1885 until 1929, although Hastings practiced alone after Carrère died in an automobile accident in 1911.
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Augusta Emma Stetson was an American religious leader. Known for her impressive oratory skills and magnetic personality, she attracted a large following in New York City. However, her increasingly radical theories, conflicts with other church members including a well-known rivalry with Laura Lathrop, and attempts to supplant Mary Baker Eddy as the leader of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, led to her eventually being excommunicated from the church on charges of insubordination and of false teaching. Afterwards she began preaching and publishing various works on her theories which she named the "Church Triumphant," and started a controversial radio station to advance her cause.
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