The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Manhattan is a 1903 building located at

Central Park West Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...

and 96th Street on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The building is a designated

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 c ...

Architecture

The building, designed by

Carrère & Hastings Carrère (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 545 Communes of France, communes of the Pyrénées-Atlan ...

, was completed in 1903, is described by ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' architectural historian Christopher Gray as "one of the city's most sumptuous churches." The style reminiscent of the churches of

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor ( – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principal architects ...

, a combination of

English Baroque English Baroque is a term used to refer to modes of English architecture that paralleled Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London (1666) and roughly 1720, when the flamboyant and dramatic qualities of Baroque ...

and French Beaux-Arts detailing. The building featured stained-glass windows by

John LaFarge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge made stained glass ...

. The window over the front door was named "Touch Me Not" and was based on John 20:17, depicting Jesus' encounter with Mary Magdalene outside the tomb. It featured mosaics, gold-plated chandeliers, marble floors, curved pews made of Circassian walnut, and elevators called "moving rooms" because they were large enough to hold 20 people. The church was designated a

in 1974, and is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

to the federally designated

Central Park West Historic District The Central Park West Historic District is located along Central Park West, between 61st and 97th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on ...

Building use

In 2004 the building was sold to the

Crenshaw Christian Center The Crenshaw Christian Center is a non-denominational megachurch based in Los Angeles, California. It has around 28,000 members. History The church was founded in 1973 by Frederick K. C. Price in Inglewood, California. In 1981, the church ...

and the Christian Science congregation merged with the congregation of the Second Church of Christ, Scientist. In June 2014, after almost ten years in the building, the Crenshaw Christian Center sold the building to 361 Central Park L.L.C. for $26 million. The new owner planned to convert the 47,000-square-foot structure to condominiums. However, the condominium plan was rejected by the zoning appears board. In January 2018, the

Children's Museum of Manhattan The Children’s Museum of Manhattan is located on West 83rd street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded by Bette Korman, under the name GAME (Growth Through Art and Museum Experience), in 1973. The museum adopted ...

announced that it had acquired the former First Church of Christ, Scientist, building. The church building cost $45 million, and the city provided $5.5 million for a renovation of the church.

FXCollaborative FXCollaborative is an American architecture, planning, and interior design firm founded in 1978 by Bob Fox and Bruce Fowle as Fox & Fowle Architects. The firm merged with Jambhekar Strauss in 2000 and was renamed to FXFOWLE Architects in 2005 f ...

was hired to renovate the church. The original plan for the church was controversial, as residents opposed the addition of a penthouse on the roof and the removal of windows, but FXCollaborative's proposal was ultimately approved in June 2020. The museum publicly presented renderings of the renovated church building in 2020. , the museum was planning to relocate in 2028.

Congregation

The congregation was organized in 1886 by

Augusta Emma Stetson Augusta Emma Stetson (''née'' Simmons) (October 12, 1842 – October 12, 1928) was an American religious leader. Known for her impressive oratory skills and magnetic personality, she attracted a large following in New York City. However, her incr ...

. The congregation gave Stetson the lot adjacent to the Church on West 96th St, where she lived in a neo-Georgian house. Stetson's house was demolished in 1930, replaced by a "mild(ly)

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

" apartment building designed by

Thomas W. Lamb Thomas White Lamb (May 5, 1870 – February 26, 1942) was a Scottish-born, American architect. He was one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas of the 20th century. Career Born in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom, Thomas W. Lamb ca ...

. The congregation met in rented space before construction of the church.

References

{{New York City Historic Sites Christian Science churches in New York City Churches in Manhattan New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Historic district contributing properties in Manhattan Carrère and Hastings buildings Central Park West Historic District Baroque Revival architecture in New York City