Spirit of the City
Recent closures of religious organizations and the continued reduction of congregation sizes, leaves the fate of their often historic structures dangerously up in the air. Most notably, the on-going, infamous hardship case by West-Park Presbyterian Church. Religious buildings are as much a part of the fabric of New York City as our tenements or brownstones are, because they represent significant periods of the city’s history, architecture and culture. Repeated closures of places of worship contributes to a loss in the cultural landscape of the city. Several surveys of religious buildings in New York have been published, however a comprehensive overview of Upper West Side places of worship has yet to be undertaken. This project seeks to identify, catalog, and better understand the collection of religious properties on the Upper West Side to not only provide an affectionate description of these cultural landmarks, but also to raise awareness of our sacred space assets, and hopefully safeguard them from over-development.
As Divine New York eloquently states, “each sacred space is a microcosm of the struggle of immigrants, the power of wealth, the need for community, and the human desire to seek spiritual guidance.”¹ Come take a look with us!
With the help of a grant from the Margot Gayle Fund courtesy of the Victorian Society of New York, we began to develop and write social histories that celebrate Victorian-era religious structures and architects. This project is also supported through the generosity of New York City Council Member Gale Brewer.
We are actively adding to this page as research develops! Don’t see the House of Worship you are looking for? Please write to landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org if you would like to sponsor the research for additional sites.
¹ Horowitz, M. L., & Hartman, E. A. (2022). Divine New York: Inside the Historic Churches and Synagogues of Manhattan. Abbeville Press Publishers.
How to use this page
Click the relevant photo or “read history” button for that site history. Among these houses of worship, buildings 1837-1917 are considered from the Victorian Era. Sites with a light gray background reflect sites that have been demolished.
Victorian Era Houses of Worship
St. Paul the Apostle
120 West 60th StreetConstructed 1875-1885
Catholic Faith
Grace and St. Paul's Church
123-125 West 71st StreetConstructed 1881-1882
Protestant Faith
Upper West Manhattan Church of Christ
891 Amsterdam AvenueConstructed 1881-1883
Christian Faith
Mision Bethel Inc. Church
460 Columbus AvenueConstructed 1884-1885
Christian Faith
West Park Presbyterian
165 West 86th StreetConstructed 1884-1890
Presbyterian Faith
Riverside Synagogue
310 West 103rd StreetConstructed 1887
Jewish Faith
West Side Institutional Synagogue
120 West 76th StreetConstructed 1889-1890
Jewish Faith
All Angels Church
428 West End AvenueConstructed 1888-1890
Episcopal Faith
St. Michael's Episcopal Church
225 West 99th StreetConstructed 1890-1891
Protestant Faith
St. Agnes Chapel
121-147 West 91st StreetConstructed 1890-1892
Protestant Faith
West End Presbyterian Church
165 West 105th StreetConstructed 1891
Presbyterian Faith
West End Collegiate Church
245 West 77th StreetConstructed 1891-1893
Christian Faith
Holy Name of Jesus
207 West 96th StreetConstructed 1891-1900
Catholic Faith
The Church of St. Dumitru
50 West 89th StreetConstructed 1892
Romanian Orthodox Faith
Annunciation Greek Orthodox
633 West End AvenueConstructed 1892-1893
Greek Orthodox Faith
The Good Shepherd
152 West 66th StreetConstructed 1893
Presbyterian Faith
Mt. Pleasant Baptist
140 West 81st StreetConstructed 1893
Baptist Faith
St. Volodymyr in Manhattan
160 West 82nd StreetConstructed 1893-1894
Ukrainian Orthodox Faith
Grace Methodist Episcopal
131 West 104th StreetConstructed 1894-1895
Methodist Faith
St. Paul & St. Andrew
263 West 86th StreetConstructed 1895-1897
Methodist Faith
Congregation Ohab Shalom
270 West 84th StreetConstructed 1895-1896
Jewish Faith
Congregation B'nai Israel Chaim
353 West 84th StreetConstructed 1896
Orthodox Jewish Faith
Church of the Ascension
213-221 West 107th StreetConstructed 1896-1897
Catholic Faith
Congregation Shearith Israel
2 West 70th StreetConstructed 1896-1897
Jewish Faith
Christ & St Stephan's Episcopal
122-128 West 69th StreetConstructed 1897
Protestant Faith
Chogyesa Temple
42 West 96th StreetConstructed 1897
Buddhist Faith
Fourth Universalist Society
160 Central Park WestConstructed 1897-1898
Christian Faith
Second Church of Christ, Scientist
77 Central Park WestConstructed 1898-1901
Christian Faith
Holy Trinity Catholic Church
213 West 82nd StreetConstructed 1899-1910
Catholic Faith
Islamic Cultural Center
1 Riverside DriveConstructed 1899-1901
Muslim Faith
First Church of Christ, Scientist
361 Central Park WestConstructed 1899-1903
Christian Faith
Advent Lutheran Church
2504 BroadwayConstructed 1900-1901
Evangelical Lutheran Faith
The Carlebach Shul
305 West 79th StreetConstructed 1900-1901
Jewish Faith
St Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal
552 West End AvenueConstructed 1901-1902
Protestant Faith
Holy Trinity Lutheran
51 Central Park WestConstructed 1902-1903
Lutheran Faith
Southern Baptist Church
12-16 West 108th StreetConstructed 1903-05
Baptist Faith
Mother Zion Church
127 West 89th StreetConstructed 1903-04
Methodist Faith
Union Baptist Church
202-204 West 63rd StreetConstructed 1904
Baptist Faith
Bloomingdale Reformed Church
949 West End AvenueConstructed 1906
Protestant Faith
St. Cyprian's
169-171 West 63rd StreetConstructed 1907
Protestant Episcopal Faith
Trinity Lutheran Church
164 West 100th StreetConstructed 1908
Lutheran Christian Faith
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
409 Central Park WestConstructed 1909
Evangelical Christian Faith
Pentacostal Iglesia El Sinai
163 West 107th StreetConstructed 1909
Christian Faith
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
167-169 west 107th StreetConstructed 1910
Evangelical Christian Faith
NY Society for Ethical Culture
33 Central Park West aka 2 West 64th StreetConstructed 1910
Protestant Faith
Redeemer West Side
150 West 83rd StreetConstructed 1910
Presbyterian Faith
St. Gregory the Great
138-144 West 90th StreetConstructed 1912-13
Catholic Faith
Central Baptist Church
649 Amsterdam AvenueConstructed 1915-17
Baptist Faith
Blessed Sacrament
152 West 71st StreetConstructed 1917
Catholic Faith
Congregation B'nai Jeshurun
257-265 West 88th StreetConstructed 1917-1918
Jewish Faith
The Jewish Center
131 West 86th StreetConstructed 1917-1920
Jewish Faith
Eclectic Era Houses of Worship & Beyond
Congregation Ramath Orah
550 Cathedral ParkwayConstructed 1921
Jewish Faith
Rutgers Presbyterian Church
236 West 73rd StreetConstructed 1921-26
Presbyterian Faith
Young Israel of the West Side
210 West 91st StreetConstructed 1921-1922
Jewish Faith
Congregation Shaare Zedek
212 West 93rd StreetConstructed 1922
Jewish Faith
Congregation Ohab Zedek
118 West 95th StreetConstructed 1926
Jewish Faith
Congregation Ansche Chesed
324-330 West End AvenueConstructed 1926-28
Jewish Faith
Unity Temple
130-132 West 79th StreetConstructed 1927-1928
Jewish Faith
Scotch Presbyterian Church
2-10 West 96th StreetConstructed 1928-1929
Presbyterian Faith
Cong. Rodeph Sholom
7 West 83rd StreetConstructed 1928-30
Jewish Faith
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
28-36 West 68th StreetConstructed 1932
Jewish Faith
Society for the Advancement of Judaism
15 West 86th StreetConstructed 1938
Jewish Faith
Saint Gerasimos Greek Orthodox Church
153 West 105th StreetConstructed 1951
Greek Orthodox Faith
New York Buddhist Church
332 Riverside DriveConstructed 1955
Buddhist Faith
Congregation Habonim
42-46 West 66th StreetConstructed 1957
Jewish Faith
Romemu Manhattan
176 West 105th StreetConstructed 1961
Jewish Faith
West End Synagogue
190 Amsterdam AvenueConstructed 1965-67
Jewish Faith
St. Matthew and St. Timothy
26 West 84th StreetConstructed 1969
Episcopal Faith
Lincoln Square Synagogue
200 Amsterdam AvenueConstructed 1970
Jewish Faith
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
125 Columbus AvenueConstructed 1972-75
Mormon Faith
Special thanks to Megan Fitzpatrick and Tom Miller who helped make this project possible.