West End Collegiate Church
Encyclopedia
The West End Collegiate Church is a church on West End Avenue
at 77th Street on Manhattan
's Upper West Side
. It is part of The Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church
in the City of New York, the oldest Protestant church with a continuing organization in America. The West End Collegiate Church and Collegiate School, which includes the adjacent Collegiate School is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
in the late nineteenth century from country estates to an urban neighborhood of town houses and, later, apartment buildings. On October 16, 1890, the Consistory of the Collegiate Church instructed the "Committee on a new church site west of Central Park
" to price several plots of land of a minimum size of seven lots. The Committee purchased four lots on West End Avenue and three lots on 77th Street for $89,000. A building committee was formed and construction began in 1891. The building was completed in the fall of 1892 and dedicated on November 20, 1892.
During World War II
the church was a center for the Dutch refugee and relief effort; Princess Juliana of the Netherlands
visited twice during the war.
The church and collegiate school buildings together were designated a New York City Landmark in 1967 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1980.
style, a subset of the Renaissance revival style. Many buildings on West End Avenue
and the upper West Side were being built in this style at that time.
Architect Robert W. Gibson
designed the church following the design of the 1606 Vleeshal
in Haarlem
, The Netherlands. This building has the picturesque qualities of the Gothic, highly valued in the late nineteenth century and deemed especially appropriate to church architecture. Authenticity is enhanced by the choice of long, thin, brown bricks laid in Roman pattern, and by the generous use of quoins and blockings of buff terra cotta. The architect further enhanced the antique effect by inserting several handsome, terra cotta panels carved with the coats-of-arms of the church and of past benefactors. The large, octagonal pulpit is carved from oak. Its panels show the coat-of-arms of the Dutch Reformed Church
and the great seal of the Church. The pulpit chairs are carved of oak in Old Dutch style. The stained glass windows were donated and created over the course of several decades; three are by Tiffany studios.
The current pastor is Dr. Mariah Britton.
West End Avenue
West End Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, not far from the Hudson River.West End Avenue originates at West 59th Street; the continuation of the street below 59th Street is called Eleventh Avenue. It runs from 59th Street to its...
at 77th Street on 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...
'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...
. It is part of The Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church
Reformed Church in America
The Reformed Church in America is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 170,000 members, with the total declining in recent decades. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1819, it...
in the City of New York, the oldest Protestant church with a continuing organization in America. The West End Collegiate Church and Collegiate School, which includes the adjacent Collegiate School is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
History
West End Collegiate was built as part of the rapid development of the Upper West SideUpper 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...
in the late nineteenth century from country estates to an urban neighborhood of town houses and, later, apartment buildings. On October 16, 1890, the Consistory of the Collegiate Church instructed the "Committee on a new church site west of 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...
" to price several plots of land of a minimum size of seven lots. The Committee purchased four lots on West End Avenue and three lots on 77th Street for $89,000. A building committee was formed and construction began in 1891. The building was completed in the fall of 1892 and dedicated on November 20, 1892.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the church was a center for the Dutch refugee and relief effort; Princess Juliana of the Netherlands
Juliana of the Netherlands
Juliana was the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 1948 and 1980. She was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry...
visited twice during the war.
The church and collegiate school buildings together were designated a New York City Landmark in 1967 and 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...
in 1980.
Architecture
The church was designed by McKim Mead & White in Dutch ColonialDutch Colonial
Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house...
style, a subset of the Renaissance revival style. Many buildings on West End Avenue
West End Avenue
West End Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, not far from the Hudson River.West End Avenue originates at West 59th Street; the continuation of the street below 59th Street is called Eleventh Avenue. It runs from 59th Street to its...
and the upper West Side were being built in this style at that time.
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...
designed the church following the design of the 1606 Vleeshal
Vleeshal
The Vleeshal is a historical building dating from 1603 on the Grote Markt in Haarlem, Netherlands.-History:Vleeshal means meat-hall; it was the only place in Haarlem where fresh meat was allowed to be sold from 1604 to the 18th century. The ox-heads on the front of the building indicate the...
in Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
, The Netherlands. This building has the picturesque qualities of the Gothic, highly valued in the late nineteenth century and deemed especially appropriate to church architecture. Authenticity is enhanced by the choice of long, thin, brown bricks laid in Roman pattern, and by the generous use of quoins and blockings of buff terra cotta. The architect further enhanced the antique effect by inserting several handsome, terra cotta panels carved with the coats-of-arms of the church and of past benefactors. The large, octagonal pulpit is carved from oak. Its panels show the coat-of-arms of the Dutch Reformed Church
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
and the great seal of the Church. The pulpit chairs are carved of oak in Old Dutch style. The stained glass windows were donated and created over the course of several decades; three are by Tiffany studios.
The current pastor is Dr. Mariah Britton.
External links
- http://www.westendchurch.org/