Times Square Church

Last updated

Times Square Church
Times-square-church.jpg
Front entrance of Times Square Church in the Mark Hellinger Theatre
USA New York City location map.svg
Red pog.svg
40°45′45″N73°59′03″W / 40.76250°N 73.98417°W / 40.76250; -73.98417 Coordinates: 40°45′45″N73°59′03″W / 40.76250°N 73.98417°W / 40.76250; -73.98417
Location237 West 51st Street
New York City, New York 10019
Country United States
Denomination Interdenominational
Website Official website
History
FoundedOctober 1987
Founder(s) David Wilkerson
Clergy
Senior pastor(s) Tim Dilena
Pastor(s) Tim Dilena
Carter Conlon
Patrick Pierre
Teresa Conlon

Times Square Church is an interdenominational congregation located at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on 237 West 51st Street in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. Times Square Church was founded by Pastor David Wilkerson in 1987 and bought the Mark Hellinger Theatre in 1991.

Contents

Church history

The Times Square Church was founded by David Wilkerson in 1987. At the time, Times Square was known as a center of X-rated films, strip clubs, prostitution, and drug addiction. Wilkerson opened the church in response to what he described as "the physically destitute and spiritually dead people" he saw among the pimps, runaways and crack dealers who populated the area. [1] The Times Square Church briefly held its services at Town Hall on 43rd Street in Manhattan and then in the Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street.

In 1989 the church leased the former Mark Hellinger Theatre. [2] Times Square Church purchased the building from the Nederlander Organization for an undisclosed amount in 1991. At the time, the value of the building was estimated to be between $15 million$18 million. [3] Upon its purchase, Pastor Donald W. Wilkerson, brother of David Wilkerson and one of the church leaders, declared that the theater would not be altered, saying "The theater is landmarked and it will remain the same." [3] The church was described as an evangelical pentecostal church headed by three pastors: David Wilkerson, his brother, Donald Wilkerson, and Robert Phillips. [3] The theater is still the church's current location on 51st Street.

In 2001, David Wilkerson entrusted the senior pastorate to Carter Conlon, formerly an evangelical pastor from eastern Canada and associate pastor at Times Square Church from 1994-2001. There are also visiting ministers and missionaries who come to preach from all over the world. The church places an emphasis on prayer and even has a "prayer during preaching ministry". There are also high school and young adults programs to teach the truth and love in the Word of God.

From 2007 to 2009 the church organized an event called Prayer in the Square, a prayer rally which took place in Times Square.

On May 5, 2020, Tim Dilena became Senior Pastor, the third since the church’s founding. He had a lifelong association with founding pastor David Wilkerson and has regularly preached at the church for many years.

Building

Mark Hellinger Theatre, 2006 Hellinger Theatre auditorium 2006.jpg
Mark Hellinger Theatre, 2006

The Mark Hellinger Theatre was originally built by Warner Bros. in 1930 as a movie palace, the Warner Hollywood Theatre, which was later converted to a Broadway venue. [4] Notable Broadway musicals that have played at the theater include My Fair Lady , Jesus Christ Superstar , and the Katharine Hepburn musical Coco . [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Wilkerson</span> American Pentecostal evangelist

David Ray Wilkerson was an American Christian evangelist, best known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He was the founder of the addiction recovery program Teen Challenge, and founding pastor of the interdenominational Times Square Church in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Hellinger Theatre</span> Former theater in Manhattan, New York

The Mark Hellinger Theatre is a church building at 237 West 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, which formerly operated as a cinema and Broadway theater. Opened in 1930, the Hellinger Theatre is named after journalist Mark Hellinger and was developed by Warner Bros. as a movie palace. It was designed by Thomas W. Lamb with a modern facade and a Baroque interior. It has 1,605 seats across two levels and has been a house of worship for the Times Square Church since 1989. Both the exterior and interior of the theater are New York City landmarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas W. Lamb</span> 20th-century Scottish-American architect (1871-1942)

Thomas White Lamb was a Scottish-born, American architect. He was one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas in the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palace Theatre (New York City)</span> Broadway theater in Manhattan, New York

The Palace Theatre is a Broadway theater at 1564 Broadway, facing Times Square, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Milwaukee architects Kirchhoff & Rose, the theater was funded by Martin Beck and opened in 1913. From its opening to about 1929, the Palace was considered among vaudeville performers as the flagship of Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Franklin Albee II's organization. The theater had 1,743 seats across three levels as of 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Amsterdam Theatre</span> Broadway theater in Manhattan, New York

The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater on 214 West 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. One of the first Broadway venues to open in the Times Square neighborhood, the New Amsterdam was built from 1902 to 1903 to designs by Herts & Tallant. The theater is operated by Disney Theatrical Productions and has 1,702 seats across three levels. Both the Beaux-Arts exterior and the Art Nouveau interior of the building are New York City landmarks, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Hellinger</span> American journalism, columnist, and film producer

Mark John Hellinger was an American journalist, theatre columnist and film producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church</span> Church building in Manhattan, New York

St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church is a parish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located in Manhattan on West 49th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. The parish has served the theatre community in a special way since 1920, and its parishioners have included many actors, such as Bob Hope and Gregory Peck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nederlander Theatre</span> Broadway theater in Manhattan, New York

The Nederlander Theatre is a Broadway theater at 208 West 41st Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, it was designed by William Neil Smith for theatrical operator Walter C. Jordan. It has around 1,235 seats across two levels and is operated by the Nederlander Organization. Since 1980, it has been named for American theater impresario David Tobias Nederlander, father of theatrical producer James M. Nederlander. It is the southernmost Broadway theater in the Theater District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nederlander Theatre (Chicago)</span> Theater in Chicago, Illinois

The James M. Nederlander Theatre is a theater located at 24 West Randolph Street in the Loop area of downtown Chicago, Illinois. Previously known as the Oriental Theatre, it opened in 1926 as a deluxe movie palace and vaudeville venue. Today the Nederlander presents live Broadway theater and is operated by Broadway In Chicago, currently seating 2,253.

Legs Diamond is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and Charles Suppon based on the Warner Brothers film The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960), with a screenplay by Joseph Landon. The music and lyrics are by Peter Allen, who starred as the title character in the Broadway production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theater District, Manhattan</span> Neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City

New York City's Theater District, sometimes spelled Theatre District and officially zoned as the "Theater Subdistrict", is an area and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan where most Broadway theaters are located, in addition to other theaters, movie theaters, restaurants, hotels, and other places of entertainment. It is bounded by West 40th Street on the south, West 54th Street on the north, Sixth Avenue on the east and Eighth Avenue on the west, and includes Times Square. The Great White Way is the name given to the section of Broadway which runs through the Theater District.

The Nederlander Organization, founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander in Detroit, and currently based in New York City, is one of the largest operators of live theaters and music venues in the United States. Its first acquisition was a lease on the Detroit Opera House in 1912. The building was demolished in 1928. It later operated the Shubert Lafayette Theatre until its demolition in 1964 and the Riviera Theatre, both in Detroit. Since then, the organization has grown to include nine Broadway theaters – making it the second-largest owner of Broadway theaters after the Shubert Organization – and a number of theaters across the United States, including five large theaters in Chicago, plus three West End theatres in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Baptist Church in the City of New York</span>

The First Baptist Church in the City of New York is a Baptist church based in a sanctuary built in 1890–93 at the intersection of Broadway and West 79th Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strand Theatre (Manhattan)</span> Former movie theater in Manhattan, New York

The Strand Theatre was an early movie palace located at 1579 Broadway, at the northwest corner of 47th Street and Broadway in Times Square, New York City. Opened in 1914, the theater was later known as the Mark Strand Theatre, the Warner Theatre, and the Cinerama Theatre. It closed as the RKO Warner Twin Theatre, and was demolished in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Plaza</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

Paramount Plaza, also 1633 Broadway and formerly the Uris Building, is a 48-story skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Emery Roth and Sons, the building was developed by the Uris brothers and was renamed for its owner, the Paramount Group, by 1980. Paramount Plaza occupies a site bounded by Broadway to the east, 51st Street to the north, and 50th Street to the south.

The Rambusch Decorating Company was founded in 1898 in New York, New York by Frode Rambusch, a Danish immigrant. It is based in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Lamb's Theatre was an Off-Broadway theater located at 130 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City inside the Manhattan Church of the Nazarene, near Times Square in New York City. It seated approximately 350 and specialized in musical productions. The building was built in 1904–1905 and was designed by Stanford White as the headquarters of the theater club The Lambs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Luke's Lutheran Church</span> Historic church in New York, United States

Saint Luke's Lutheran Church, also known as The German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Saint Luke's and St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church, is a historic Lutheran church located on Restaurant Row at 308 West 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix Theatre (New York City)</span>

The Phoenix Theatre was a pioneering off-Broadway theatre in New York City, extant from 1953 to 1982. The Phoenix was founded by impresario Norris Houghton and T. Edward Hambleton. The project was a pioneering effort in the establishment of off-Broadway theatre. Houghton and Hambleton wanted a theatre away from Times Square, that would host a permanent company, abjure the star system, produce four or five plays a season for limited engagements, and with ticket prices much lower than on Broadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TSX Broadway</span> Skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

TSX Broadway is an under-construction 46-story mixed-use building on Times Square, at the southeastern corner of Broadway and 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Developed by L&L Holding, the building will include a 669-room hotel, multi-story retail space, and an existing Broadway theatre called the Palace Theatre. The TSX Broadway development involves the reconstruction of a DoubleTree hotel that was completed in 1991, as well as the lifting of the Palace Theatre at the former hotel's base. The framework of the hotel's first 16 stories remains largely intact, but the upper floors have been demolished. Work on the new structure began in 2019, and the building is planned to be completed in 2023.

References

Notes

  1. "The History of Times Square Church: A testimony of obedience". tsc.nyc. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  2. Simonson, Robert. Playbill November 26, 2010
  3. 1 2 3 Collins, Glenn (December 7, 1991). "Hellinger Theater Sold To Church". The New York Times . Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  4. Morrison, William (1999). Broadway Theatres: History and Architecture (trade paperback). Dover Books on Architecture. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. pp. 162–163. ISBN   0-486-40244-4.
  5. "Times Square Church" at Internet Broadway Database