Holyrood Episcopal Church
Holyrood Protestant Episcopal Church | |
 | |
  Location within New York City  Location within New York  Location within the United States | |
| Location | 715 West 179th St., New York, New York |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°50′58″N 73°56′18″W / 40.84944°N 73.93833°W[1] |
| Area | 0.4 acres (0.16 ha) |
| Architect | Bannister & Schell |
| Architectural style | Gothic revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 100005702[2] |
| NYSRHP No. | 06101.014846 |
| NYCL No. | 2649 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 2020-10-29 |
| Designated NYSRHP | 2020-06-16[3] |
| Designated NYCL | 2021-05-18 |
Holyrood Episcopal Church is a Protestant Episcopal Church located at 715 West 179th Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City.
History
The church was founded in 1893 by the Rev. William Oliver Embury, who served as chaplain of the nearby House of Refuge for Problem Girls, and was operated by the Episcopal religious order, the Community of St. Mary, in what is now Inwood Hill Park at a time when upper Manhattan was an area of country houses located beyond the edge of the city. The congregation's first building, in country gothic style, was designed by R.D. Chandler and erected in 1895 on Broadway at what is now 181st Street. 1895, a country-style church with a tower, designed by R.D. Chandler, was built on upper Broadway at what is now 181st Street. The area urbanized rapidly, and in 1910 the congregation began to plan a new, larger Gothic revival building at Fort Washington Avenue and 179th Street. Designed by Bannister & Schell, it was ready for occupancy in 1914.[4] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020[5] and designated as a New York City landmark in 2021.[6]
The Rev. Gustav Cartensen was rector from 1919 to 1927. He came to Holyrood after his liberal positions on issues such as permitting black children from a nearby "Negro orphan asylum" led to his resignation from the pulpit of Christ Church (Bronx, New York) at the request of members of the vestry. He was then invited to take the pulpit at Holyrood where his "liberal" positions garnered "widespread publicity," according to The New York Times.[7]
In 2017 the church took a humanitarian position when it agreed to grant "sanctuary" to a Guatemalan refugee scheduled for deportation.[8] The woman is officially regarded as a "fugitive" by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.[8]
References
- ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. August 28, 2024.
- ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. June 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. November 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ↑ "Holyrood Episcopal Church". nycago.org. American Guild of Organists. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ↑ "Weekly listing". National Park Service.
- ↑ "Landmarks Designates Holyrood Church, Educational Building". CityLand. June 1, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ↑ "DR. CARSTENSEN, 90, MINISTER 65 YEARS; Rector Emeritus of Holyrood". The New York Times. June 27, 1941. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 106068036. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- 1 2 Robbins, Liz; Wolfe, Jonathan (August 18, 2017). "Told to Go Back to Guatemala, She Sought Sanctuary Instead". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
External links
- Churches completed in 1914
- Churches in Manhattan
- Washington Heights, Manhattan
- 19th-century Episcopal church buildings
- Christian organizations established in 1893
- Gothic Revival church buildings in New York City
- 1893 establishments in New York (state)
- Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
- New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
- New York State Register of Historic Places in New York County