Tompkins Avenue Presbyterian Church

The Tompkins Avenue Congregational Church was established in June 1875, and held its first worship services in a school house. A month later, the former Tompkins Avenue Presbyterian Church building, located on the corner of McDonough Street and Tompkins Avenue, became available due to foreclosure on its $61,000 mortgage, and was rented for the use of the new church. In March 1881, the society purchased the building at a cost of $40,000. Under the pastorate of the Rev. George F. Pentecost, D.D., the church membership had steadily grown to almost 1000. In 1887, the Rev. Dr. Robert R. Meredith of Boston was called to the pastorate, and by 1888 it became apparent that a larger church would be needed. A plot of land directly across the street from the old church, on the southwest corner of Tompkins Avenue and McDonough Street, was purchased for $26,000. Plans were drawn up for a new church which would be completed by January 1, 1889, cost $70,000, and seat over 2000 people.

The new brick and granite building, designed by George P. Chappel, was built in 1888-89 and dedicated on January 6, 1889. Occupying a ground plot of 135 feet by 205 feet, the Italianate building was more than 75 feet in height and featured an immense 140-foot-tall square tower, reminiscent of the campanile of St. Mark's in Venice. The vast auditorium was semi-circular with every seat facing the pulpit. The ceiling rose to 47 feet, and there were no columns to obstruct the view or interfere with the transmission of sound. The floor was level for 35 feet from the pulpit, and then will rise at the rate of one-third of an inch to the foot; the gallery will also incline to the front. The plain but substantial interior was finished in ash and mahogany and had a seating capacity of 2,084. Twenty-four of its pews were reserved for the children of the Brooklyn Orphan Asylum.

When the new building was opened, Tompkins Avenue Congregational Church boasted the largest church structure as well as the second largest Church membership of its denomination in the country. The congregation continued to grow, eventually numbering 2,440 members. It was often referred to as "Dr. Meredith's Church," after its well-known preacher, The Rev. Dr. Robert R. Meredith.

The old church was used for a time for some of the departments of the large Sunday school. Some of the progressive members wished to remodel the building as a clubhouse containing a commodious lecture hall, reading room, library, billiard room, bowling alleys, gymnasium, etc. However, in June 1889 the old church was sold for $43,000 to the newly established St. Matthew's Protestant Episcopal Church. At a later time the building was acquired by the Stuyvesant Heights Christian Center.

During the 1920s, wealthy residents left the community for less dense areas. Within a few years, the neighborhood demographics included Scandinavians, Irish, Italians, Russians, West Indians and Jews, along with an influx of Blacks from the South and the West Indies. With the opening of the A train in 1936, many Blacks living in overcrowded Harlem were attracted to Brooklyn. Many of the area’s White residents moved to new affordable homes in the suburbs and other sections of Brooklyn. The 1930s and 1940s marked a period of financial and physical decline in the neighborhood, and a large ghetto developed.

In 1942, Tompkins Avenue Congregational Church merged with and moved to the Flatbush Congregational Church, located at 19th Street and Dorchester, forming the Flatbush-Tompkins Congregational Church. The membership of the merged churches was 4,100, making it the largest Congregational Church in the United States at the time. The Tompkins Avenue building was then acquired by the First A.M.E. Zion Church.

Sources:      Aeolian-Skinner Archives website: http://aeolianskinner.organsociety.org/.      "A New Congregational Church," The New York Times (Jul 16, 1875).      "A Splendid Church for Brooklyn," The New York Times (Jun 6, 1888).      "Dupre Recital Tonight," The New York Times (Dec 3, 1937).      Holden, Dorothy. The Life and Work of Ernest M. Skinner. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1987.      Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List. New Rev. Ed. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.      Midmer-Losh Organ Company ledger book. Entry for Estey organ. Courtesy Larry Trupiano.      "Pews in Brisk Demand," The New York Times ( Jan 4, 1889).      "Ready to Celebrate Church Anniversary," Brooklyn Eagle (Nov 13, 1900).      Stiles, Henry R. History of the City of Brooklyn. Including the Old Town and Village of Brooklyn, The Town of Bushwick, and The Village and City of Williamsburgh. 1867-70.      Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specification of Ernest M. Skinner organ, Op. 145 (1907).      Van Pelt, William T., comp. The Hook Opus List, 1829-1916 in Facsimile. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1991.      Wong, Jai Lin. A History of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Excerpted on NYC Architecture Images web site: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/BES/BedStuy.htm      WPA Guide to New York City (1939) Illustrations:      Birk, Eric. Interior.      Brooklyn Eagle, Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection. Exterior.      Schutt, David. Console of Ernest M. Skinner organ, Op. 145 (1907).

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