- Church of the Holy Communion and Buildings
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Church of the Holy Communion and Buildings
The buildings in 2010, as the Limelight MarketplaceLocation: 656-662 6th Ave., New York, New York Coordinates: 40°44′28″N 73°59′40″W / 40.74111°N 73.99444°WCoordinates: 40°44′28″N 73°59′40″W / 40.74111°N 73.99444°W Area: less than one acre Built: 1844 Architect: Richard Upjohn Architectural style: Gothic Revival Governing body: Private NRHP Reference#: 80002680[1] Significant dates Added to NRHP: April 17, 1980 Designated NYCL: 1966 The Church of the Holy Communion and Buildings are historic Episcopal church buildings at 656-662 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) at West 20th Street in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City.
The church is a New York City landmark, designated in 1966,[2] and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is located within New York City's Ladies' Mile Historic District.
Contents
History
The Gothic Revival church building was constructed in 1844-1845 according to a design by Richard Upjohn, and was consecrated in 1846.[3] In 1853 Upjohn completed the Parish House and Rectory on West 20th Street, and in 1854 he built the Sister's House.[2][3] The design of the church, which features brownstone blocks chosen for placement at random,[3] made the church "one of the most influential buildings of the 19th century".[2] It was:
[the] first asymmetrical Gothic Revival church edifice in the United States ... Upjohn designed the building to resemble a small medieval English parish church ... The church's founder, the Reverend William Muhlenberg, a leader of the evangelical Catholic within the Episcopal Church, was closely involved with the design ...[2]
Muhlenberg believed that the Gothic style was "the true architectural expression of Christianity."[3]
At the time it was built, the neighborhood around the church was still a fashionable residential area, with homes lining Sixth Avenue.[3] By the late 19th century, as the city continued to expand uptown, the area had become part of the "Ladies' Mile" shopping district, with Sixth Avenue lined with giant department stores and dry goods emporia, which by World War I had all either moved uptown or closed.
By the 1970s, with the city at the depth of its financial problems, the neighborhood was virtually abandoned, being neither residential nor retail, excepting some car dealerships. In 1975 the declining parish merged with those of Calvary Church, on Park Avenue South at East 21st Street, and St. George's Church, at Stuyvesant Square, and the combined parish of Calvary-St. Seorge's sold the Church of the Holy Communion to Odyssey House, a drug rehabilitation program, in order to meet its fiscal obligations.[4][3] Odyssey House, in turn, sold the buildings to nightclub entrepreneur Peter Gatien, who opened the New York Limelight club there in 1983.
Nightclub
Main article: The LimelightFrom 1983 until 2007, the church was utilized as a nightclub, The Limelight. After frequent problems with the police and charges of rampant drug abuse in the club, it was closed, but reopened in 2003 under the name "Avalon". It closed permanently in 2007.
Marketplace
On May 7, 2010, the building was reopened as a retail mall called the Limelight Marketplace. Conceived by Jack Menashe, who formerly owned SoHo retail store Lounge, James Mansour of Mansour Design, and Melisca Klisanin, Creative Director, the marketplace is a three-story venue consisting of more than 60 small, high-end shops, selling jewelry, clothing, organic goods and other items.[5] It was promoted with a campaign which utilized advertisements on local buses, taxicabs, and billboards.[6][7]
See also
- Church of the Holy Communion, New Jersey
- Limelight (nightclub)
- St. George's Episcopal Church (Manhattan)
- Calvary Church (Manhattan)
References
- Notes
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ a b c d New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Guide to New York City Landmarks (4th ed.) New York:Wiley, 2009. ISBN 978-0-470-28963-1, p.77
- ^ a b c d e f Mendelsohn, Joyce. Touring the Flatiron. New York: New York Landmarks Conservancy, 1998. ISBN 0-964-7061-2-1 pp.88-89
- ^ Calvary St, George website Accessed:May 19, 2010)
- ^ Johnson, Richard et al."The Limelight is Going Retail" New York Post (June 17, 2009)
- ^ "Limelight Marketplace Opens in New York". http://www.ddionline.com/displayanddesignideas/industry-news/Limelight-Marketplac-1323.shtml.
- ^ Zagat Buzz: Limelight Marketplace: Grimaldi's Pizza by the Slice, Cupcakes and More, May 5, 2010
External links
- NYC-Architecture on Church of the Holy Communion
- Calvary St. George's Website
- Limelight Marketplace website
Categories:- Churches in Manhattan
- Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
- Gothic Revival architecture in New York
- Religious buildings completed in 1844
- 19th-century Episcopal church buildings
- Former Episcopal churches in New York
- Closed churches in New York City
- Richard Upjohn buildings
- Stone churches in New York
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