St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church

Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary
	Photographed in 2009
General information
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
Town or city	Manhattan, New York City
Country	United States
Completed	1918
Client	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Technical details
Structural system	Masonry brick with terracotta trim
Design and construction
Architect(s)	?
Website
	St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church, Manhattan

Last updated June 02, 2024

The Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 211 East 83rd Street, between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. St. Elizabeth's was founded by Slovakian immigrants on the Lower East Side in 1891, and the Upper East Side building was completed in 1918. The Archdiocese of New York issued a decree to close the church on June 30, 2017. Robert Saffayeh Development bought the site and began developing it in 2024.

History

St. Elizabeth's was founded by Slovakian immigrants on the Lower East Side, with the first Mass celebrated on April 26, 1891, in the basement of St. Bridget's Church on 8th Street and Avenue B.^[2]^[3] The first church building was located 345 East 4th Street, which hosted its first Mass on August 7, 1892. A special feature of The New York Times in 1901, mentioned the church, listed as "the Hungarian church," among other Catholic structures in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, describing the group "for the most part...limit[ing] themselves to the functions of a parish church, in districts where social needs are otherwise supplied." Without comment on other facilities attached.^[4]

As parishioners relocated, it became necessary to move the parish. The former Second Emmanuel Lutheran Church church on East 83rd Street, built in 1892, became the new home for St. Elizabeth's on June 7, 1917.^[2] It underwent several expansions in the following decades.^[2]

As the local Slovak population declined later in the 20th century, Cardinal Cooke redesignated it as a church for the deaf Catholics of New York on July 1, 1980.^[2]

In November 2014, the Archdiocese announced that the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary was one of 31 neighborhood parishes which would be merged into other parishes.^[5] St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Stephen of Hungary were to be merged into the Church of St. Monica at 413 East 79th Street.^[6]^[7]

The Archdiocese of New York issued a decree to close the church on June 30, 2017.^[8] This decision, along with the earlier decision to merge, was appealed to the Vatican by parishioners.^[9] Demolition of this church started on May 28, 2024. The land was purchased for $11.8M from the Diocese by Robert Saffayeh Development. The church had earlier been considered for, but did not receive, landmark status from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.^[10]

Building

The AIA Guide to NYC (Fifth Edition, 2010), neglects to mention an architect, describing the Gothic Revival church as "a classy, spired neo-Gothic exterior, but the treat is within: ascent the stairs to view a just heavenly groin-vaulted ceiling painted in the colors of Ravenna's mosaics."^[1]

Related Research Articles

The Church of the Holy Rosary was a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 444 East 119th Street, East Harlem, Manhattan, New York City.

St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church, also known as St. Brigid's or Famine Church, is a church located at 123 Avenue B, on the southeast corner of East 8th Street, along the eastern edge of Tompkins Square Park in the Alphabet City section of the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. Associated with the church is a parish school, Saint Brigid School, consisting of grades Pre-K through 8, which has been in existence since 1856.

St. Lucy's Church is a former parish church of the Parish of St. Lucy, which operated under the authority of the Archdiocese of New York in the East Harlem section of the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. The parish address was 344 East 104th Street; the parochial school occupied 336 East 104th Street. The parish merged with St. Ann's Church in 2015, and Masses and other sacraments are no longer offered regularly at this church.

The Church of St Gregory the Great is a Roman Catholic parish located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The parish is part of the Archdiocese of New York. The church building, designed by architect Elliott Lynch, contains the church and parish offices on the ground floor with St. Gregory the Great Parochial School on the next two floors above, the final fourth floor is occupied by the rectory. The address of the church is 144 West 90th Street, New York, New York 10024-1202; the address of the school is 138 West 90th Street, New York, NY 10024.

St. Ann’s Church was the name of a former Roman Catholic parish church at 110-120 East 12th Street between Fourth and Third Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

The Church of St. Teresa is a Roman Catholic parish located at 16-18 Rutgers Street on the corner of Henry Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The parish is under the authority of the Archdiocese of New York. The church building was constructed in 1841-42 as the Rutgers Presbyterian Church erected in the Gothic Revival style on a plot of ground donated by Colonel Henry Rutgers, and it is said to have the oldest public clock in New York City. The church was taken over by St. Teresa's Parish in 1863, three years after it was founded.

The Church of All Saints is a historic former Catholic church in the Archdiocese of New York, located at 47 East 129th Street, at the corner of Madison Avenue in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

Church of Our Saviour is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 59 Park Avenue and 38th Street in Manhattan, New York City. The parish was established in 1955. In 2015, the parish was renamed Our Saviour and St. Stephen/Our Lady of the Scapular after it merged with the parish of St. Stephen/Our Lady of the Scapular. The parish includes a mission church, the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary at 325 East 33rd Street, which had previously merged with St. Stephen/Our Lady of the Scapular.

The Church of St. Monica, commonly referred to as St. Monica's, is a parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 413 East 79th Street, Manhattan, New York City. The parish was established in 1879 and in 2015 merged with nearby St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Stephen of Hungary churches.

The Church of St. Stephen of Hungary is a Roman Catholic church in the Archdiocese of New York, located at 402-412 East 82nd Street, Manhattan, New York City. The former parish of St. Stephen was administered by the Order of Friars Minor from its founding in 1922 until its merger with St. Joseph's in 2015.

The Church of the Holy Agony was a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 1834 Third Avenue and 101st Street, in the East Harlem section of Manhattan, New York City. The parish was established in 1930 as a mission of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. The parish is staffed by the Vincentian Fathers.

The Church of the Nativity was a Catholic parish church in the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 44 Second Avenue between Second and 3rd Streets in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1842 and permanently closed in 2015.

The Parish of St. Rita of Cascia and of St. Pius V is a Roman Catholic parish under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. The church is located at 448 College Ave. in the Bronx.

The Church of St. Simon Stock – St. Joseph is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 2191 Valentine Avenue, Bronx, New York City. It was established in 1919 and has been continuously staffed by the Carmelite Fathers since its founding.

The Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 160 Van Cortlandt Park South, Kingsbridge, Bronx, New York City, New York.

The Nativity of Our Blessed Lady is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 1510 East 233rd Street and the corner of Secor Avenue, Bronx, New York in the Eastchester neighborhood of the northern Bronx. The church was designed by Don Shepherd, a designer and not an architect. The AIA Guide to New York City described it as "a minor work but one which calls attention to itself because of its location and the rusted steel crucifix that dominates the corner of the site."

The Church of St. Sebastian is a former Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 312 East 24th Street in Manhattan, New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John the Martyr Church (New York City)</span> Building in New York, United States of America

The Church of St. John the Martyr was a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 250 East 72nd Street, Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York.

The Parish of St. Ann-St. Brendan is a parish of the Archdiocese of New York located in the Bronx, New York. It was created on August 1, 2015, by the merger of two previous parishes, the Shrine Church of St. Ann and the Parish of St. Brendan.

References

1 2 White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City. American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (Fifth ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 478. ISBN 978-0-19-538386-7.
1 2 3 4 "Our History", StElizabethofHungaryNYC.org, retrieved February 7, 2011
↑ Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg Together with some Supplementary Articles on Religious Communities of Women. . (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.325.
↑ "Centres of Civilization; On the Lower East Side of New York", The New York Times , Jul 21, 1901. Excerpt: “Everybody who read it must have been struck by a remark of Mr. Hewitt's, made not very long ago, touching the tenement house district, which was considerably commented on in the press. The remark was that it was not only the part of humanity and charity for the more favored to assist the less favored, but that in this particular case, it was not less the part of prudence…..St. Nicholas in Second Street, St. Rose of Lima in Cannon Street, and St. Teresa in Henry Street. There is also a remarkable church, remarkable for the ...””
↑ Otterman, Sharon. "Tears and Heartache for New York’s Catholics as Cardinal Shuts Churches" The New York Times (November 2, 2014)
↑ "List of Merging Churches and Those That Will Cease Regular Services" The New York Times (November 2, 2014)
↑ Mishkin, Mike (2024-04-24). "Developer Purchases East 83rd Street Church". East Side Feed. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
↑ Dolan, Timothy Michael (June 30, 2017) "Decree on the Relegation of the Church of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary in the Parish of Saint Monica-Saint Elizabeth of Hungary-Saint Stephen of Hungary, New York" Office of the Cardinal, Archdiocese of New York
↑ Feuerherd, Peter (September 23, 2015). "Opponents challenge parish closings, mergers in NY archdiocese". National Catholic Reporter.
↑ Zimmer, Amy (July 26, 2017). "A Dozen Church Properties Deconsecrated by Archdiocese for Potential Sale". DNAinfo . Archived from the original on 2017-08-22.

External links

Church of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary official site

40°46′36.02″N73°57′16.2″W / 40.7766722°N 73.954500°W / 40.7766722; -73.954500

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[AIANYC5.P478-1] 1 2 White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City. American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (Fifth ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 478. ISBN 978-0-19-538386-7.

[seh-2] 1 2 3 4 "Our History", StElizabethofHungaryNYC.org, retrieved February 7, 2011

[Lafort-3] Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg Together with some Supplementary Articles on Religious Communities of Women. . (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.325.

[LES-4] "Centres of Civilization; On the Lower East Side of New York", The New York Times , Jul 21, 1901. Excerpt: “Everybody who read it must have been struck by a remark of Mr. Hewitt's, made not very long ago, touching the tenement house district, which was considerably commented on in the press. The remark was that it was not only the part of humanity and charity for the more favored to assist the less favored, but that in this particular case, it was not less the part of prudence…..St. Nicholas in Second Street, St. Rose of Lima in Cannon Street, and St. Teresa in Henry Street. There is also a remarkable church, remarkable for the ...””

[5] Otterman, Sharon. "Tears and Heartache for New York’s Catholics as Cardinal Shuts Churches" The New York Times (November 2, 2014)

[6] "List of Merging Churches and Those That Will Cease Regular Services" The New York Times (November 2, 2014)

[7] Mishkin, Mike (2024-04-24). "Developer Purchases East 83rd Street Church". East Side Feed. Retrieved 2024-05-29.

[8] Dolan, Timothy Michael (June 30, 2017) "Decree on the Relegation of the Church of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary in the Parish of Saint Monica-Saint Elizabeth of Hungary-Saint Stephen of Hungary, New York" Office of the Cardinal, Archdiocese of New York

[9] Feuerherd, Peter (September 23, 2015). "Opponents challenge parish closings, mergers in NY archdiocese". National Catholic Reporter.

[10] Zimmer, Amy (July 26, 2017). "A Dozen Church Properties Deconsecrated by Archdiocese for Potential Sale". DNAinfo . Archived from the original on 2017-08-22.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]