St. Thomas More's Church (New York City)

The Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas More (Formerly the Episcopal Chapel of the Beloved Disciple)
General information
Architectural style	Gothic Revival architecture
Town or city	New York, New York
Country	United States of America
Completed	1870
Technical details
Structural system	Sandstone masonry
Design and construction
Client	The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America
Architect	Hubert & Pirsson

The Church of St. Thomas More is part of a Roman Catholic church complex located on East 89th Street, off Madison Avenue the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City. The parish is under the authority of the Archdiocese of New York. Attached to the complex is the church (1870), a single-cell chapel (1879), a rectory (1880), and a parish house (1893). The church building was built in 1870 for the Protestant Episcopal Church as the Chapel of the Beloved Disciple in the Gothic Revival architectural style. Under various names, the church building has been used by three Christian denominations, including Episcopalians, Dutch Reformed, and Catholics. It is the second-oldest church on the Upper East Side.

History and Design

The church was built from sandstone from Nova Scotia in 1870 to a design by the architectural firm of Hubert & Pirsson. Architectural historian and New York Times journalist Christopher Gray wrote that “The Gothic-style building has the air of a picturesque English country church, with a plot of green in front and a square tower rising in front of the sanctuary. According to Andrew S. Dolkart, an architectural historian specializing in church design, the building is closely modeled after Edward Buckton Lamb's Church of St. Martin's, Gospel Oak, London (see Gospel Oak), built in 1865. ‘It has almost every little quirky detail of the London church,’ says Mr. Dolkart. ‘The chamfered corners, the varying planes of the façade, the asymmetrical pinnacle at the top of the tower. It really captures your attention.’”

Attached to the complex are a single-cell chapel (1879), and a rectory and a parish house (1880 and 1893). The larger Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, on Fifth Avenue and 45th Street, relocated to 2 East 90th Street forcing Beloved Disciple to merge with it (its name retained in a chapel). “The old church was sold in 1929 to a Dutch Reformed congregation, and then in 1950 to the Roman Catholic Church, [and rededicated to] St. Thomas More.”^[1]

The church was renovated in the later half of the 20th century by architect Paul Cornelius Reilly ^[2]

Notable parishioners

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a parishioner here until her death, however, her funeral was held at the nearby St. Ignatius of Loyola because of the number of attendees. On July 30th 1999, after the death and cremation of John Kennedy Jr., the Kennedy family held a private memorial service for him here which President Clinton attended and Senator Ted Kennedy gave the eulogy.

References

1. ^ Gray, Christopher (2 April 1989). "STREETSCAPES: St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church; A Touch of the English Countryside in Manhattan" (in English). New York Times (IT'S a sight to make a preservationist's blood run cold - heavy scaffolding suddenly going up around a 119-year-old church in an area that has been proposed, but not yet accepted, for landmark designation. When you see scaffolding, you always hope they're restoring it, says Halina Rosenthal, president of the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, but you are always afraid that the owner has something else in mind. This time, there is no cause for alarm. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas More at 65 East 89th Street, built in 1870 as the Episcopal Church of the Beloved Disciple, is just being repointed and the scaffolding should be down in time for June weddings. The church was established in conjunction with St. Luke's Home for Indigent Christian Females, which occupied the adjacent lot at the northeast corner of 89th and Madison. Established by St. Luke's Episcopal Church near the church's own building at Hudson and Grove Streets, the home's relocation to 89th Street meant its elderly residents could no longer conveniently attend services. The Rev. Isaac Tuttle, rector of St. Luke's, approached Caroline Talman - not connected with St. Luke's Church but active in Episcopal philanthropy - and explained the need for a new, separate church; she offered the money to build one. According to a history of St. Luke's published in 1920, Miss Talman enjoyed watching the progress of the church's construction and would often go uptown from her Murray Hill residence to see it. Later, after losing substantial sums in poor investments, she thanked Dr. Tuttle for persuading her to make an investment of which she could never be robbed. The Gothic-style building has the air of a picturesque English country church, with a plot of green in front and a square tower rising in front of the sanctuary. According to Andrew S. Dolkart, an architectural historian specializing in church design, the building is closely modeled after Edward B. Lamb's Church of St. Martin's, Gospel Oak, London, built in 1865. It has almost every little quirky detail of the London church, says Mr. Dolkart. The chamfered corners, the varying planes of the facade, the asymmetrical pinnacle at the top of the tower. It really captures your attention. The exterior is executed in a beautifully soft, olive-gray sandstone identified by Sidney Horenstein, a geologist with the American Museum of Natural History, as quarried in Nova Scotia. The same stone is used in some of the walls surrounding Central Park and as trim on the Dakota apartment house. A one-story chapel on the west was added in 1879, and a rectory and a parish house were added on the east side between 1880 and 1893, completing the complex. When the church first rose it was in largely vacant territory; now it is the second oldest church structure on the East Side, after the Church of the Resurrection at 115 East 74th Street, completed in 1869. The architects, Hubert & Pirsson, were later prominent in the syndication and design of early cooperative apartment houses and their 1884 Hotel Chelsea, at 222 West 23d Street, still stands. Miss Talman died in 1897, leaving $5,000 to the home, which was moved to a new building at the southeast corner of 112th Street and Broadway in 1899. But Beloved Disciple continued until the mid-1920's, when the Church of the Heavenly Rest, a much larger congregation then at Fifth Avenue and 45th Street, began its present building at 2 East 90th Street. Beloved Disciple agreed to merge with Heavenly Rest - retaining some identity in the form of an eponymous chapel in the new building. The old church was sold in 1929 to a Dutch Reformed congregation, and then in 1950 to the Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas More, which is how most people know it today. TALL apartment houses on Park Avenue shut off its east light in the 1920's and the 38-story apartment house at 45 East 89th Street,at the corner of Madison, blocked off the chapel's west windows in 1973. It now gets only raking light, morning and evening, and the deep shadows cast by the buttresses and other vertical elements, the darkened olive-gray stone and the striking tower all make it one of those midblock secrets missed by the guidebooks but savored by local residents. It's an English country church in Manhattan. A Carnegie Hill Historic District was designated in 1973 but reached south only to 90th Street excluding the church. Civitas, Carnegie Hill Neighbors and other community groups have been pushing to extend the district boundaries to include the church and other buildings, but the Landmarks Commission has yet to act on the proposal. Samuel White, with the firm of Buttrick, White & Burtis, is serving pro bono as architect and says the work is strictly normal maintenance, repointing the stone, and only minor restoration of some elements will be made. Msgr. George F. Bardes, the pastor, says the work is part of a larger program to make the exterior sound. St. Thomas More has kept up its building very nicely, but Monsignor Bardes is nonetheless relieved that it is still not yet a landmark. St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church at 65 E. 89th St., formerly the Episcopal Church of the Beloved Disciple, in 1890 (St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church)). http://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/02/realestate/streetscapes-st-thomas-more-roman-catholic-church-touch-english-countryside.html?scp=1&sq=St.%20Thomas%20More%20Roman%20Catholic%20Church;%20A%20Touch%20of%20the%20English%20Countryside%20in%20Manhattan&st=cse. Retrieved 12 February 2011. 
2. ^ "Paul C. Reilly, 94, ArchitectAnd a Catholic Lay Leader" (in English). The New York Times (" Paul C. Reilly, a retired New York and New Jersey architect whose works included the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark and the Roman Catholic Church of Our Saviour at Park Avenue and 38th Street in Manhattan, died Saturday at his home in Locust, N. J. He was 94 years old. Mr. Reilly was also closely associated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. He was a former member of the Cardinal's Committee of the Laity and once held the post of architect of St. Patrick's Cathedral. In addition to church architecture, Mr. Reilly designed several Manhattan theaters, including the Capitol, the Rialto, the Rivoli and the Morosco. Mr. Reilly, a native of New York City who later moved to West Orange, N. J., graduated from Columbia University and, early in his career, was chief designer for the former New York City architectural firm of Thomas W. Lamb. He is survived by a son, Paul W. Reilly of Locust, and three grandchildren.": The New York Times Corporation). September 13, 1984. http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/13/obituaries/paul-c-reilly-94-architectand-a-catholic-lay-leader.html. Retrieved 12 February 2011.