St._Elizabeth_of_Hungary_Church_(New_York_City)
St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church
Building in New York City, United States
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.
| 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[1] |
| 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 | |
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]
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]
- 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.
- "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)
- 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.