St. James' Episcopal Church and Parish House is a historic

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

church at 2500

Jerome Avenue Jerome Avenue is one of the longest thoroughfares in the New York City borough of the Bronx, New York, United States. The road is long and stretches from Concourse to Woodlawn. Both of these termini are with the Major Deegan Expressway which ...

and 190th Street, in the Fordham neighborhood of

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

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 ...

. It was founded July 5, 1853, becoming the first Episcopal parish in Fordham. The parish at first met at the Manor Reformed Church on Kingsbridge Road, then on June 11, 1854 acquired an old schoolhouse for use. On October 1, 1854, the Rev. Joshua Weaver became its first rector.

Buildings

The

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

was designed in 1863 by architect

Henry C. Dudley Henry C. Dudley (1813–1894), known also as Henry Dudley, was an English-born North American architect, known for his Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival churches. He was a founding member of the American Institute of Architects and desi ...

(1813-1894). Bishop

Horatio Potter Horatio Potter (February 9, 1802 – January 2, 1887), was an educator and the sixth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Dearth of biographical information Potter "shrank from public notice, left no literary monument and has, regrettabl ...

laid the cornerstone of the present building on May 28, 1864, and the church was consecrated by the same on

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are know ...

, November 1, 1865. It is a "native stone" building with

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...

trim in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. It was completed at a cost of $25,000. The stone parish house, located on Jerome Avenue, was built 1891-1892 to the designs by Henry Franklin Kilburn. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1982. It was designated a

New York City Landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

in 1980. The parish also operated an apartment building on its property, built to relieve the housing shortage after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and as a business venture to raise revenue for expanding the church and parish house. It opened in 1924; however, the debt proved onerous with the coming of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. The property was finally sold in 1924.

References

External links

St. James' Episcopal Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint James' Episcopal Church and Parish House, Bronx 19th-century Episcopal church buildings Churches completed in 1863 Episcopal church buildings in the Bronx Fordham, Bronx Gothic Revival church buildings in New York City New York City Designated Landmarks in the Bronx Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in the Bronx

Buildings

See also

References

External links