St. Michael's Church, New York City
Encyclopedia
St. Michael's Church is a historic Episcopal church at 225 W. 99th Street in New York City
. It was founded in January 1807; the present Romanesque
building was built in 1890 and added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1996.
The church building also is noted for its two tracker-action pipe organs built in 1967 by the Rudolph von Beckerath Organ Company (Hamburg, Germany), and its fine acoustics.
In addition to traditional Anglican services, St. Michael’s has services and prayer groups influenced by the emerging church
movement.
Sale of air rights
that enabled the building of The Ariel
allowed St. Michael's to finance a major building restoration.
The first building was a simple white frame structure with a belfry, built for pewholders of Trinity Church, Wall Street
who sought a more convenient place to worship near their summer homes overlooking the Hudson River amid the farms on what is now Manhattan's Upper West Side
. At that time the City of New York was confined to the southern tip of Manhattan. Among the congregation was the widow of Alexander Hamilton
. A second, larger, Carpenter Gothic
building was in use from 1854 to 1891. The third and current building, influenced by the Romanesque
and Byzantine
styles and designed to seat 1,500 people, was dedicated in December, 1891. The present church was erected after an elevated railroad was built on Columbus Avenue absorbing the rural district into the growing city.
In 1895, Louis Comfort Tiffany
(1848–1933) was commissioned to design and install the seven great lancet windows representing St. Michael
’s Victory in Heaven, along with a marble altar. Twenty-five years later, Tiffany’s overall design scheme was completed with the Chapel of the Angels reredos
mosaic depicting the Witnesses of the Redemption. From the 1890’s through the 1920’s, parish
ioners donated stained glass windows of eclectic styles.
In 1997 St. Michael’s Church became a Designated Historical Building on the National Register of Historic Places
and the New York State Register of Historic Places.
The ghostly presence of St. Michael's Lane may still be traced in mid-block back alleys and service access for several blocks south of 91st Street.
designed the windows which were made in his studios with the assistance of artists Clara W. Parrish, Edward P. Sperry, Louis J. Lederle and Joseph Lauber. Two additional Tiffany stained glass windows were later installed in the Chapel of the Angels,in addition to a large Tiffany mosaic behind the altar. Tiffany decorations in the main sanctuary include a white Vermont marble altar, altar rail, and pulpit and the dome of the apse. The many Tiffany features were installed between 1891 and 1920. The windows were restored in 1990.
After the windows were restored, the church had the entire interior painted by Fine Art Decoration of New York with the architectural details picked out in in a striking array of colors drawn form the windows and mosaics.
The square, Romanesque
bell tower rises 160 feet. The architect was Robert W. Gibson
.
, located first in Seneca Village
, in what is now Central Park
, and later on West End Avenue. After the Civil War, St. Michael’s provided space and financial support for the free Bloomingdale Clinic, District Nurse Association, Day Nursery and Circulating Library.
St. Michael's is known for its wide range of programs and for its congregation’s wide ethnic, socio-economic, and sexual orientation
diversity. The church draws people from all areas of New York City and its surroundings.
Today, the church has five choirs; more than 100 children are involved in the Christian Formation Program. Social ministries include work for the hungry and the homeless, the ill and their caregivers, the unemployed and their dependents. Both church and parish house provide space for extensive parish activities and major not-for-profit community organizations.
Since the early 1990s, St. Michael’s has been partnered with St. Michael’s, Promosa, in Matlosane, South Africa
and, most recently, with the Diocese of Madras in the Church of South India
.
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...
. It was founded in January 1807; the present Romanesque
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
building was built in 1890 and added to 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...
in 1996.
The church building also is noted for its two tracker-action pipe organs built in 1967 by the Rudolph von Beckerath Organ Company (Hamburg, Germany), and its fine acoustics.
In addition to traditional Anglican services, St. Michael’s has services and prayer groups influenced by the emerging church
Emerging Church
The emerging church is a Christian movement of the late 20th and early 21st century that crosses a number of theological boundaries: participants can be described as evangelical, Protestant, Catholic, post-evangelical, anabaptist, adventist, liberal, post-liberal, reformed, charismatic,...
movement.
Sale of air rights
Air rights
Air rights are a type of development right in real estate, referring to the empty space above a property. Generally speaking, owning or renting land or a building gives one the right to use and develop the air rights....
that enabled the building of The Ariel
The Ariel
The Ariel East and Ariel West are a pair of apartment buildings on Broadway at 99th Street that are known for being the tallest buildings on Manhattan's predominantly residential Upper West Side.-Controversy:...
allowed St. Michael's to finance a major building restoration.
History
Almost uniquely among upper Manhattan’s houses of worship, St. Michael’s Church has been located on exactly the same site for two centuries.The first building was a simple white frame structure with a belfry, built for pewholders of Trinity Church, Wall Street
Trinity Church, New York
Trinity Church at 79 Broadway, Lower Manhattan, is a historic, active parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York...
who sought a more convenient place to worship near their summer homes overlooking the Hudson River amid the farms on what is now Manhattan's Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
. At that time the City of New York was confined to the southern tip of Manhattan. Among the congregation was the widow of Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
. A second, larger, Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic, and Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters...
building was in use from 1854 to 1891. The third and current building, influenced by the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
and Byzantine
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
styles and designed to seat 1,500 people, was dedicated in December, 1891. The present church was erected after an elevated railroad was built on Columbus Avenue absorbing the rural district into the growing city.
In 1895, Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
(1848–1933) was commissioned to design and install the seven great lancet windows representing St. Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
’s Victory in Heaven, along with a marble altar. Twenty-five years later, Tiffany’s overall design scheme was completed with the Chapel of the Angels reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
mosaic depicting the Witnesses of the Redemption. From the 1890’s through the 1920’s, parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
ioners donated stained glass windows of eclectic styles.
In 1997 St. Michael’s Church became a Designated Historical Building 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...
and the New York State Register of Historic Places.
The ghostly presence of St. Michael's Lane may still be traced in mid-block back alleys and service access for several blocks south of 91st Street.
Architecture and art
St. Michael's is noted for the many works of art created for the congregation by Tiffany studios. After the church building was completed, seven windows were commissioned and installed showing "St. Michael's Victory in Heaven." Louis Comfort TiffanyLouis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
designed the windows which were made in his studios with the assistance of artists Clara W. Parrish, Edward P. Sperry, Louis J. Lederle and Joseph Lauber. Two additional Tiffany stained glass windows were later installed in the Chapel of the Angels,in addition to a large Tiffany mosaic behind the altar. Tiffany decorations in the main sanctuary include a white Vermont marble altar, altar rail, and pulpit and the dome of the apse. The many Tiffany features were installed between 1891 and 1920. The windows were restored in 1990.
After the windows were restored, the church had the entire interior painted by Fine Art Decoration of New York with the architectural details picked out in in a striking array of colors drawn form the windows and mosaics.
The square, Romanesque
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
bell tower rises 160 feet. The architect was Robert W. Gibson
Robert W. Gibson
Robert W. Gibson, AIA, was an English-born American ecclesiastical architect active in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century New York City and New York State. He designed several large Manhattan churches and a number of prominent residences and institutional buildings.Gibson studied...
.
Impact
For most of its existence, and continuing today, St. Michael’s has had an impact on the physical and social development of New York City. St. Michael’s founded at least six New York churches, including All Angels' ChurchAll Angels' Church
All Angels' Church is located on 251 West 80th Street in New York City. It is a member of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Communion worldwide.- History :All Angels' was founded in 1846 by St. Michael's Episcopal Church...
, located first in Seneca Village
Seneca Village
Seneca Village was a small village on the island of Manhattan, New York, founded by free blacks. Seneca Village existed from 1825 through 1857, when it was torn down due to the construction of Central Park....
, in what is now Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, and later on West End Avenue. After the Civil War, St. Michael’s provided space and financial support for the free Bloomingdale Clinic, District Nurse Association, Day Nursery and Circulating Library.
St. Michael's is known for its wide range of programs and for its congregation’s wide ethnic, socio-economic, and sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
diversity. The church draws people from all areas of New York City and its surroundings.
Today, the church has five choirs; more than 100 children are involved in the Christian Formation Program. Social ministries include work for the hungry and the homeless, the ill and their caregivers, the unemployed and their dependents. Both church and parish house provide space for extensive parish activities and major not-for-profit community organizations.
Since the early 1990s, St. Michael’s has been partnered with St. Michael’s, Promosa, in Matlosane, South Africa
Anglican Diocese of Matlosane
The Anglican Diocese of Matlosane is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.The diocese was founded in 1990. It was originally known as the Diocese of Klerksdorp.It occupies the main proportion of the Province of the North West in South Africa....
and, most recently, with the Diocese of Madras in the Church of South India
Church of South India
The Church of South India is the successor of the Church of England in India. It came into being in 1947 as a union of Anglican and Protestant churches in South India. With a membership of over 3.8 million, it is India's second largest Christian church after the Roman Catholic Church in India...
.
See also
- Complete List of Presiding Bishops
- Succession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United StatesSuccession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United StatesThis list consists of the bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, an independent province of the Anglican Communion. This shows the historic succession of the episcopate within this denomination.-Key to chart:...
- Anglican CommunionAnglican CommunionThe Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
- St. Michael's Episcopal Church (disambiguation)