(Roman Catholic) 120 East 106th Street at Lexington Avenue New York, N.Y. 10029 http://www.saint-cecilia-parish.org/
The Parish of St. Cecilia was formed in 1873 from the southern portion of St. Paul's Church in Harlem. Ten years earlier, Cardinal McCloskey had purchased property at the northeast corner of Second Avenue and 105th Street for the purpose of establishing a new church. However, the Civil War interrupted these plans and it was not until 1873 that Cardinal McCloskey appointed Rev. Hugh Flattery to organize the new parish. Masses were held in the old Red House Hotel (which later was transformed into a parochial residence) until a frame church was erected during the summer of 1873. Dedicated on August 20, 1873, the new church, including the altar and all necessary furnishings, was completed at a cost of $10,000. Father Flattery retired from St. Cecilia's in 1879. His successor, Rev. William Flannelly, purchased four lots on East 106th Street, between Lexington and Fourth Avenues, and began construction of a larger church. During his tenure the basement church was completed and used for services, and the old frame church was donated to the parish of the Holy Rosary and was moved to its site on East 119th Street. Father Flannelly died in 1884, and was succeeded by Rev. John J. Henry (who retired after a few months) and then Rev. Michael J. Phelan, who oversaw completion of the upper church, and also built a school and convent. Designed by Napoleon Le Brun & Sons, the brick Romanesque Revival church measures 100 by 120 feet. Its massive façade includes a porch that is supported by ten red granite columns, above which are seven stained glass windows, all surmounted by a terra-cotta figure of St. Cecilia playing an organ. The interior features seven stained glass windows (representing the seven sacraments) above the main altar, over which is a painting of "The Last Supper" by Frost Johnson. As originally built, the interior of the church provided seating for 1,400 people on the main floor and in the two side galleries. In the west transept is a small gallery for the Sisters of Mercy, who taught in the school. The total cost of the completed church was about $150,000. Archbishop Corrigan dedicated the new church on November 27, 1887. Adjacent to the church is the Regina Angelorum, designed by Neville & Bagge in 1907, with a façade unifying two earlier buildings that were used as a convent and a home for working girls. The facilities for working girls are now used as a day nursery. Since 1939, the church has been staffed by the Redemptorist Fathers. The church was designated a New York City landmark in 1976, and the church and convent were listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1984. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
