They’re Raising the Roof over at Fourth Universalist!
The incredible landmark that is Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York at 76th Street and Central Park West is moving into the future! A gorgeous new roof is “slated” to replace the old asphalt roof, and your support will help get the job done! LANDMARK WEST! is excited to support this project to protect a landmark and enhance our neighborhood’s special character. Individual donors like you make all the difference!
DONATE TODAY, and you’ll receive regular email updates on the roof’s progress. Plus, as LW! is a 501(c)(3) organization and the fiscal sponsor for this project, the full amount of your gift is tax deductible within the limits of the law.
On behalf of everyone who loves the historic Upper West Side, we thank you! Questions? Contact us anytime at landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org or (212) 496-8110.
Convenient Online Giving Below or Simply Drop-off or Mail Your Check:
Special Gift
- Make a single donation of any size.
- Or, set up a recurring donation!
Donate by Check
- To make a donation by check (payable to Landmark West!), download the form and drop or mail to:
- Landmark West!
- 45 W. 67th Street
- New York, NY 10023
Other ways to donate to LW! include a gift of stock (contact LW! for delivery instructions at 212-496-8110), making a tax-free gift from your IRA (check with your accountant), or asking your employer about matching-gift opportunities. Thank you!
History of the Landmark “4th U” Church Building
There could not be a more positive sign for the future of New York than the decision by those in charge of this church…to save and restore its building for the benefit of its community…willing to stake a claim for the belief that we do not make a better city by seeing every landmark merely as a piece of developable real estate. ~ Paul Goldberger, The New York Times, 12/29/85
In 1898 the architect of the Fourth Universalist Society in the City of New York, William Appleton Potter, based its rare English Perpendicular Gothic design upon the Magdalen Tower in Oxford, England. It received praise from notable architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, whose daughter was married at the church. The church houses several significant artistic works, including an altar by Louis Comfort Tiffany, a bronze relief sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, a mosaic by R. H. Robertson, and stained glass windows by Clayton and Bell of London. The organ was donated by Andrew and Louise Carnegie.
The building was designated by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1973, is included in the Central Park West-76th Street Historic District, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As well, the Fourth Universalist Society was the location for the now-historic 15 hour public hearing held January 12, 1988 by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission regarding the proposed Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District, the focus of Landmark West’s first major campaign.
In the 1980s, the congregation received inquiries from developers eager to obtain the church’s choice property location. Instead, the congregation joined with community activists, preservationists, and neighbors to successfully raise funds for maintenance and capital improvements. In return for these funds, the church promised not to exercise its development rights for a certain number of years, one of the first such agreements of its kind.
The building is now in great need of a new roof, and the community is eager to replace the worn and leak-prone asphalt shingles with a slate roof, as it had originally. The new roof will bring this landmark back to prominence, as well as protect the building for another 100 or more years to come.
