First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York
Encyclopedia
The First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York is located on East 69th Street in the Upper East Side
of the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
. It is a stucco
-faced brick building completed in 1916 in a Hungarian vernacular
architectural style
, housing a congregation established in 1895.
It is the only Christian religious building designed by Hungarian-born architect Emery Roth
, later known for his apartment buildings on Central Park West
. As one of two Hungarian Reformed Churches
in Manhattan, it has a been a focal point for the city's Hungarian-American community since its construction.
In 1983, its parsonage was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as a contributing property
to the Rowhouses at 322–344 East 69th Street
historic district
to its immediate west. The parsonage was listed in its own right along with the church in 2000. Following the demolition of the German Evangelical Reformed Church a block to the south, it is now the oldest church in neighborhood.
and Second
avenues. It is in the middle of a group of old rowhouses. Those on the west
are among the few remaining from the early development of this part of the Upper East Side around 1880. The rowhouse on the church's west serves as its parsonage. Across the street are larger, taller apartment buildings dating to the first half of the 20th century. Similar high-rises are to the south.
The building itself is a two-story, three-bay
structure with raised basement in brick faced with yellow stucco
. A square bell tower
rises from the center of a side-gable
d roof; behind it the roof is flat. There is a slightly projecting main entrance at the center and a basement entrance on the west.
On the north-facing street facade
's first floor are two windows on either side of the main entrance with piers on either side. They are topped with decorative ceramic rectangular panels. Above them, on the second story, are double windows topped with similarly decorated semicircular panels. In the middle, on the projecting section, is a large oculus
with plaster surround.
The roofline is marked by a bracketed
overhanging eave with exposed rafter
tails. Above it the bell tower rises, with a single narrow window on the north above the roof topped by three similar windows on each face at the top. Each corner is topped with pyramid-shaped pinnacles; the tower itself has a conical roof in red tile with a weathervane on top.
A pent roof with wooden knee braces, below another rectangular ceramic panel, shelters the main entrance. Below it are double wooden doors beneath a stained glass
tripartite transom
with an eagle in the center. It opens into a vestibule
with steps leading into the nave
.
The nave has a mosaic tile floor with Greek key border and marble wainscoting. A central aisle runs between two rows of original wooden pew
s. Full-height pilaster
s divide the walls into four bays. At the south end the walls are angled and filled with stained glass windows topped with a semicircular arch. A columbarium
with bronze font is in the northeast corner.
Heating ducts are visible along the top of the west wall. The coffer
ed ceiling is elliptical-arched with lateral beams springing from the pilaster capitals
. The coffers themselves are intricately painted and gilded
. In the center of the ceiling are stained glass skylights. The light they let in is supplemented by artificial light from hanging fixtures.
A stairwell in the northwest corner of the vestibule leads to the choir loft. It has marquetry
panels with Hungarian folk art motifs below the balustrade. The church's basement has been remodeled into an auditorium with paneled walls and a dropped acoustic-tile ceiling. A door near the rear of the nave opens into the parsonage.
The parsonage is a three-story Neo-Grec
brownstone
rowhouse with raised basement and stoop. Like the others in the row, it has decorated door and window enframements, rusticated
stones and a segmental arch window on the basement and a galvanized
iron cornice
with decorative brackets at the flat roof. Inside many original finishes remain, such as paneled doors, stair balustrade and high ceilings. The first floor is the church office, with the upper stories the living space.
against Habsburg rule
, Hungarian refugees began settling in New York. They started Magyar Szamuzottek ("Hungarian Exiles' News"), the first Hungarian American
newspaper. The community grew again in the 1880s when immigrants began coming to America for better economic opportunities. Most settled along Second Avenue
, either between 1st and 10th
streets or 55th
and 72nd
.
In 1895 The Rev. Bertalan Demeter established the First Hungarian Congregation, holding services in the Hope Chapel on 4th Street. Three years afterwards, in 1889, a new pastor, Zoltan Kuthy, led the congregation into joining the Hungarian Reformed church
es that had already been established elsewhere in the U.S. The church grew, and bought a house on East 7th Street for services.
The 1910 census
indicated that over 75,000 New Yorkers identified as of Hungarian origin. Most were from the regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that, in addition to modern Hungary, include portions of the Czech Republic
, Austria
, Slovakia
and Slovenia
. Ethnically some were Romanian, Slovak and Croatian. They were of diverse religious background, most Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox, but with significant Protestants and Jewish populations.
In 1914 the church sold its house and bought the three lots on East 69th Street. Two of the existing houses were demolished to clear a site for the church; the one that remained was renovated for use as a parsonage. Emery Roth
, a Hungarian immigrant himself from what is now Slovakia, was retained to design the new building. It was only his second religious building, and the only Christian building ever for Roth, who designed several synagogue
s in the city. Since he was Jewish, it is likely that he was chosen for his familiarity with Hungarian vernacular architecture
and close ties with the Hungarian community.
Roth's design reflects many Hungarian church building traditions, in keeping with the practice of many immigrant communities of the time. The stucco exterior is accented with inlaid faience
tile, overhanging roof with rafter tails, and clay-tiled conical tower. Inside, the coffer
ed ceiling is a common element in churches in eastern Hungary and Transylvania
. Its 322 individual coffers are handpainted with Hungarian folk motifs. It has been called "a charmingly exotic adapation of Hungarian vernacular architecture".
The new building was consecrated
in early 1916, using the bell from the old church. Since then there have been few changes other than the remodeling of the parsonage. The columbarium
was added to the nave in the 1950s, and the basement was remodeled at some point. Old photographs also show all roofs having the same clay tiles as the tower.
New York's Hungarian community reached its zenith of almost 125,000 in the middle of the 20th century, the largest of any city in the nation. The area around the church had a strong Hungarian presence, with many bookstores and restaurants catering to its tastes. It declined over the rest of the century as the descendants of the original immigrants gradually assimilated and moved to Queens
or the suburbs. New immigrants attended the church but often settled outside Manhattan as the area had begun to gentrify
. The church continues to serve them, holding services in Hungarian every Sunday.
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. It is a stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
-faced brick building completed in 1916 in a Hungarian vernacular
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
, housing a congregation established in 1895.
It is the only Christian religious building designed by Hungarian-born architect Emery Roth
Emery Roth
Emery Roth was an American architect who designed many of the definitive New York City hotels and apartment buildings of the 1920s and 30s, incorporating Beaux-Arts and Art Deco details...
, later known for his apartment buildings on Central Park West
Central Park West
Central Park West is an avenue that runs north-south in the New York City borough of Manhattan, in the United States....
. As one of two Hungarian Reformed Churches
Reformed Church in Hungary
The Reformed Church in Hungary is a key representative of Christianity in Hungary, being numerically the second-largest denomination in Hungary after the Roman Catholic Church, and the biggest denomination among ethnic Hungarians in Romania...
in Manhattan, it has a been a focal point for the city's Hungarian-American community since its construction.
In 1983, its parsonage was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the Rowhouses at 322–344 East 69th Street
Rowhouses at 322–344 East 69th Street
The 12 rowhouses at 322–344 East 69th Street are located on the south side of that street between First and Second avenues on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
to its immediate west. The parsonage was listed in its own right along with the church in 2000. Following the demolition of the German Evangelical Reformed Church a block to the south, it is now the oldest church in neighborhood.
Buildings
The church is located on the south side of the street midway between FirstFirst Avenue (Manhattan)
First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound for over 125 blocks before terminating at the Willis Avenue Bridge into The Bronx at the Harlem River near East 127th Street. South of Houston Street, the...
and Second
Second Avenue (Manhattan)
Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan extending from Houston Street at its south end to the Harlem River Drive at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular traffic runs only downtown. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th...
avenues. It is in the middle of a group of old rowhouses. Those on the west
Rowhouses at 322–344 East 69th Street
The 12 rowhouses at 322–344 East 69th Street are located on the south side of that street between First and Second avenues on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
are among the few remaining from the early development of this part of the Upper East Side around 1880. The rowhouse on the church's west serves as its parsonage. Across the street are larger, taller apartment buildings dating to the first half of the 20th century. Similar high-rises are to the south.
The building itself is a two-story, three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
structure with raised basement in brick faced with yellow stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
. A square bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
rises from the center of a side-gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof; behind it the roof is flat. There is a slightly projecting main entrance at the center and a basement entrance on the west.
On the north-facing street facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
's first floor are two windows on either side of the main entrance with piers on either side. They are topped with decorative ceramic rectangular panels. Above them, on the second story, are double windows topped with similarly decorated semicircular panels. In the middle, on the projecting section, is a large oculus
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
with plaster surround.
The roofline is marked by a bracketed
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
overhanging eave with exposed rafter
Rafter
A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members , that extend from the ridge or hip to the downslope perimeter or eave, designed to support the roof deck and its associated loads.-Design:...
tails. Above it the bell tower rises, with a single narrow window on the north above the roof topped by three similar windows on each face at the top. Each corner is topped with pyramid-shaped pinnacles; the tower itself has a conical roof in red tile with a weathervane on top.
A pent roof with wooden knee braces, below another rectangular ceramic panel, shelters the main entrance. Below it are double wooden doors beneath a stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
tripartite transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
with an eagle in the center. It opens into a vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
with steps leading into the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
.
The nave has a mosaic tile floor with Greek key border and marble wainscoting. A central aisle runs between two rows of original wooden pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s. Full-height pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s divide the walls into four bays. At the south end the walls are angled and filled with stained glass windows topped with a semicircular arch. A columbarium
Columbarium
A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns . The term comes from the Latin columba and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons .The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is a particularly fine ancient Roman example, rich in...
with bronze font is in the northeast corner.
Heating ducts are visible along the top of the west wall. The coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
ed ceiling is elliptical-arched with lateral beams springing from the pilaster capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
. The coffers themselves are intricately painted and gilded
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
. In the center of the ceiling are stained glass skylights. The light they let in is supplemented by artificial light from hanging fixtures.
A stairwell in the northwest corner of the vestibule leads to the choir loft. It has marquetry
Marquetry
Marquetry is the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures. The technique may be applied to case furniture or even seat furniture, to decorative small objects with smooth, veneerable surfaces or to freestanding pictorial panels...
panels with Hungarian folk art motifs below the balustrade. The church's basement has been remodeled into an auditorium with paneled walls and a dropped acoustic-tile ceiling. A door near the rear of the nave opens into the parsonage.
The parsonage is a three-story Neo-Grec
Neo-Grec
Neo-Grec is a term referring to late manifestations of Neoclassicism, early Neo-Renaissance now called the Greek Revival style, which was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III, a period that lasted...
brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
rowhouse with raised basement and stoop. Like the others in the row, it has decorated door and window enframements, rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
stones and a segmental arch window on the basement and a galvanized
Galvanization
Galvanization is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, in order to prevent rusting. The term is derived from the name of Italian scientist Luigi Galvani....
iron cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
with decorative brackets at the flat roof. Inside many original finishes remain, such as paneled doors, stair balustrade and high ceilings. The first floor is the church office, with the upper stories the living space.
History
After the failure of the 1848 revoltHungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many of the European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas...
against Habsburg rule
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
, Hungarian refugees began settling in New York. They started Magyar Szamuzottek ("Hungarian Exiles' News"), the first Hungarian American
Hungarian American
Hungarian Americans Hungarian are American citizens of Hungarian descent. The constant influx of Hungarian immigrants was marked by several waves of sharp increase.-History:...
newspaper. The community grew again in the 1880s when immigrants began coming to America for better economic opportunities. Most settled along Second Avenue
Second Avenue (Manhattan)
Second Avenue is an avenue on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan extending from Houston Street at its south end to the Harlem River Drive at 128th Street at its north end. A one-way street, vehicular traffic runs only downtown. A bicycle lane in the left hand portion from 55th...
, either between 1st and 10th
10th Street (Manhattan)
10th Street is an east-west street from the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan to Avenue D in the East Village. East of Sixth Avenue it changes heading, from east-northeast to east-southeast. Traffic is eastbound as far as Tompkins Square Park, of which it marks...
streets or 55th
55th Street (Manhattan)
55th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan.-Sutton Place South:*The route officially begins at Sutton Place South which is on a hill overlooking FDR Drive....
and 72nd
72nd Street (Manhattan)
72nd Street is one of the major bi-directional crosstown streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Where the west end of 72nd Street curves into the south end of Riverside Drive, the memorial to Eleanor Roosevelt stands in Riverside Park. At this end of the street is the landmarked...
.
In 1895 The Rev. Bertalan Demeter established the First Hungarian Congregation, holding services in the Hope Chapel on 4th Street. Three years afterwards, in 1889, a new pastor, Zoltan Kuthy, led the congregation into joining the Hungarian Reformed church
Reformed Church in Hungary
The Reformed Church in Hungary is a key representative of Christianity in Hungary, being numerically the second-largest denomination in Hungary after the Roman Catholic Church, and the biggest denomination among ethnic Hungarians in Romania...
es that had already been established elsewhere in the U.S. The church grew, and bought a house on East 7th Street for services.
The 1910 census
United States Census, 1910
The Thirteenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21.0 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 Census...
indicated that over 75,000 New Yorkers identified as of Hungarian origin. Most were from the regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that, in addition to modern Hungary, include portions of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
and Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. Ethnically some were Romanian, Slovak and Croatian. They were of diverse religious background, most Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox, but with significant Protestants and Jewish populations.
In 1914 the church sold its house and bought the three lots on East 69th Street. Two of the existing houses were demolished to clear a site for the church; the one that remained was renovated for use as a parsonage. Emery Roth
Emery Roth
Emery Roth was an American architect who designed many of the definitive New York City hotels and apartment buildings of the 1920s and 30s, incorporating Beaux-Arts and Art Deco details...
, a Hungarian immigrant himself from what is now Slovakia, was retained to design the new building. It was only his second religious building, and the only Christian building ever for Roth, who designed several synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s in the city. Since he was Jewish, it is likely that he was chosen for his familiarity with Hungarian vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
and close ties with the Hungarian community.
Roth's design reflects many Hungarian church building traditions, in keeping with the practice of many immigrant communities of the time. The stucco exterior is accented with inlaid faience
Faience
Faience or faïence is the conventional name in English for fine tin-glazed pottery on a delicate pale buff earthenware body, originally associated with Faenza in northern Italy. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip...
tile, overhanging roof with rafter tails, and clay-tiled conical tower. Inside, the coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
ed ceiling is a common element in churches in eastern Hungary and Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. Its 322 individual coffers are handpainted with Hungarian folk motifs. It has been called "a charmingly exotic adapation of Hungarian vernacular architecture".
The new building was consecrated
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
in early 1916, using the bell from the old church. Since then there have been few changes other than the remodeling of the parsonage. The columbarium
Columbarium
A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns . The term comes from the Latin columba and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons .The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is a particularly fine ancient Roman example, rich in...
was added to the nave in the 1950s, and the basement was remodeled at some point. Old photographs also show all roofs having the same clay tiles as the tower.
New York's Hungarian community reached its zenith of almost 125,000 in the middle of the 20th century, the largest of any city in the nation. The area around the church had a strong Hungarian presence, with many bookstores and restaurants catering to its tastes. It declined over the rest of the century as the descendants of the original immigrants gradually assimilated and moved to Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
or the suburbs. New immigrants attended the church but often settled outside Manhattan as the area had begun to gentrify
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
. The church continues to serve them, holding services in Hungarian every Sunday.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan above 59th to 110th StreetsNational Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan above 59th to 110th StreetsList of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 59th to 110th StreetsThis is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places between 59th and 110th Streets in Manhattan...