Brick Presbyterian Church (New York City)
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The Brick Presbyterian Church is a large congregation at
Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
and 91st Street on the
Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. A member of the
Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
, it is known for its Day School and music programs. It was founded as an offshoot of First Presbyterian Church. Its first building, in
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
, opened in 1768. The Park Avenue location opened April 14, 1940.


History

The first church building was built and designed by architect John McComb, Sr. on the corner of Beekman and Nassau Streets. It opened doors on New Year's Day in 1768. During the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, the British used the church to house
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
. When the congregation moved uptown, the ''New-York Daily Times'' used the site for its new headquarters, a dedicated five-story building. In 1858, the congregation moved to a new building on Murray Hill at 37th Street and
Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
since its congregation had moved farther uptown. The dedication was on October 31. On April 23, 1910, Mark Twain's funeral was held at the church and the Rev.
Henry van Dyke Jr. Henry Jackson van Dyke Jr. (November 10, 1852 – April 10, 1933) was an American author, educator, diplomat, and Presbyterian clergyman. Early life Van Dyke was born on November 10, 1852, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Henry ...
officiated. By the late 1930s, the congregation had decided to move yet farther north. The building at Fifth and 37th was sold and demolished in 1938. The church merged with Park Avenue Presbyterian Church in 1937 and the joint congregation built the 91st St. location. The church also acquired a residence on East 92nd St. to turn it into a Parish House. The cornerstone to the current building was laid on November 25, 1938, in the presence of Mayor
Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...
. The congregation first worshipped on 91st Street on April 14, 1940. The ''New York Times'' described the building as "a model of a colonial house of worship, is red brick with white trimmings and huge circular white pillars at the front." Following the end of WWII, Mrs. Stephen C. Clark and some of her friends who had also lost sons and daughters in that war installed lighted trees along Park Avenue as a memorial not only to their children but to those from throughout the city who had given their lives. These trees were first lighted on Dec. 17, 1945, and dedicated to the memory of those who had died in all of our country's wars. Subsequently, they became known as the Park Avenue Memorial Trees. Every year since a ceremony involving caroling and the tree lighting takes place on the first Sunday in December on the Park Avenue steps of Brick Church.


Brick Church School

The Brick Church School has early childhood programs. It was founded in 1940 and has been led by Dr. Lydia Spinelli since 1983. In 2019, Dr. Spinelli retired, and Amy Warden became the new Director of the school. The Brick Church School’s mission is to provide an excellent early childhood education, nourishing children’s emotional, social, intellectual, physical, ethical, and spiritual well-being through an intentionally balanced approach in an atmosphere of warmth and mutual respect. Members of the church are given preference in the competitive application process.


Music

Dr. Raymond Nagem has been the Minister of Music at The Brick Church since September 2021. He leads the church's acclaimed professional choir. The sanctuary has a French Symphonic style organ with 6,288 pipes built by
Casavant Frères Casavant Frères is a Canadian organ building company in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which has been building pipe organs since 1879. As of 2014, the company has produced more than 3,900 organs. Company history Brothers Joseph-Claver (1855–1933 ...
of
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. The organ was dedicated with a recital by Dutch master Ben van Oosten in the fall of 2005, and was designed in the style of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, a 19th-century organ maker. Jean-Louis Coignet was a consultant in the project. Coignet had been a Parisian government employee who was in charge of the city’s organs. There is a two manual, 26 rank mechanical action by Guilbault-Thérien in the Chapel of the Reformed Faith. This organ was installed in 1996 and is fashioned after French choir organs of the mid-19th century.


Notable members

* James W.B. Benkard, senior
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partner, Supreme Court litigator, and former president of the
Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most aristocratic gentlemen's clubs in th ...
. *
Louise Whitfield Carnegie Louise Whitfield Carnegie (March 7, 1857 – June 24, 1946) was the wife of philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Biography Early life Louise Whitfield was born on March 7, 1857 in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Her parents—Joh ...
, wife of industrialist
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
. *
John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (, ; February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. He served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959 and was briefly ...
was an elder at the church. *
Carolyn Maloney Carolyn Jane Maloney (née Bosher, February 19, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013, and for from 1993 to 2013. The district includes most of Manhattan's East Side, Astoria and Long Island City i ...
, member of Congress. * John McComb, Jr., architect, son of John McComb Sr., and builder of New York City Hall. *
Margaret Carnegie Miller Margaret Carnegie Miller (March 30, 1897 – April 11, 1990) was the only child of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and Louise Whitfield, and heiress to the Carnegie fortune. A native of Manhattan, New York City, from 1934 to ...
, trustee of
Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
of New York and daughter of industrialist
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
. *
Thomas J. Watson Thomas John Watson Sr. (February 17, 1874 – June 19, 1956) was an American businessman who served as the chairman and CEO of IBM. He oversaw the company's growth into an international force from 1914 to 1956. Watson developed IBM's manageme ...
, chairman and CEO of IBM.


References


External links

* {{coord, 40.784205, -73.955139, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-NY Churches in Manhattan Park Avenue Upper East Side Brick buildings and structures Churches completed in 1940