Drawn to a welcoming community All Saints’ Episcopal Church stands as a steadfast presence in its ever-evolving neighborhood. This is a place of worship and service to God.
All Saints Church has a rich history. Its origins lie in the Free Chapel founded by St. Thomas Church in 1858 in downtown Manhattan. When St. Thomas Church moved uptown ten years later to its present site on Fifth Avenue and 53rd the little chapel moved to a midtown location. Finally on October 4 1872 it moved to its current site. Bishop Horatio Potter laid the cornerstone of this third St. Thomas Chapel. Vestry member George Kemp donated $15000 toward the purchase of three lots on 60th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. The church is currently located on these lots.
The chapel was later torn down. In 1894 a new one was constructed and consecrated by Bishop Henry Codman Potter. In 1921 adjacent property at 234 East 60th Street was bought. This became the vicarage and now the rectory home of the rector.
It wasn’t until the 1960s that the parish secured its independence. Its new name of All Saints Church was first used at Easter 1963. The legal transfer of independence came on April 14 1965. Deeds to the properties of the 60th St church were transferred. On May 11 1965 All Saints Church was admitted into the Diocese of New York at its annual convention.
In the course of its history the neighborhood surrounding All Saints has evolved. It changed from farmland to industrial to urban residential. A changing population surrounds the church with business and industry embedded in the area’s residential nature. Throughout the dimensions of growth and transformation All Saints has remained a steadfast presence.
Music has been and continues to be a centerpiece of worship here. Outreach to the poor is a priority of the community.
All Saints Episcopal Church fell pretty far from the architectural tree. It was built in 1894 as a mission chapel of St. Thomas Church. St. Thomas was then as it is now a powerful Gothic sanctuary.
St. Thomas Chapel was a modest melange by C. E. Miller. It had a pinch of Gothic and a bit of Romanesque. What charms it had were eradicated in a 1950s renovation. Lancet windows were eliminated. The facade was smothered in stucco. A thin aluminum cross was attached and the rose window was replaced by an abstract composition.
In 2001 the rector of All Saints said houses of worship must be attentive to the face they present to the public. He said if it looks like they haven’t done anything to keep themselves up in the last 10 years you move on.
Thanks to fund-raising All Saints undertook a $1.3 million renovation. It included air-conditioning the church making it accessible for the disabled and replacing the facade. The aluminum cross is already gone.
The renovation didn’t try to replicate the original 1894 design. The architect turned for inspiration to the carpenter Gothic of Alexander Jackson Davis and in part to the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.
The facade is made of a cement-like substance combining powdered stone and mica aggregate. It can be tooled to resemble carved stone. The abstract rose window was replaced with a figurative window depicting the resurrection of Jesus. It is by Sylvia Nicolas whose father was a renowned stained-glass designer.
A wrought-iron fence lampposts plantings and new signboards enhance its street presence.
All Saints Church also features impressive stained glass windows. The Great West Window depicts the life of Jesus in the outer panels the Resurrection in the center panels and the Holy Trinity at the top. The Clerestory Windows depict the Communion of Saints including figures like St. Peter St. Paul and St. Mary.
So take a moment to appreciate the enduring spirit and architectural evolution of All Saints Church. Its story reflects not only its own transformation but also the changing face of the city around it.