Interchurch Center
Encyclopedia
The Interchurch Center is a 19-story granite-clad office building located at 475 Riverside Drive
and West 120th Street in New York City. Besides renting to many secular non-profits, it is the headquarters for the National Council of Churches USA and its sister humanitarian organization Church World Service
, and also houses a wide variety of church agencies and ecumenical and interfaith organizations as well as many secular organizations.
Its concentration of religious organizations has led some to nickname the building the God Box. The current tenants include agencies of the United Church of Christ
, the United Methodist Church
, the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A., the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
, Reformed Church in America
and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
. Samuel G. Freedman
describes the building as the closest thing to a Vatican
for America’s mainline Protestant denominations. The mainline churches include the Episcopal, Lutheran Presbyterian, Methodist and United Church of Christ (Congregationalists) denominations.
The Center benefits from a strong religious and educational environment. One of its tenants is the New York Theological Seminary
. The building is located across from The Riverside Church, Union Theological Seminary
and Columbia University
and is a short walk to Jewish Theological Seminary
, Manhattan School of Music
, and the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, all in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan
's Upper West Side. It is convenient to public rail transportation via subway line #1 at 116th Street, the M60 bus line from LaGuardia Airport, and north-south bus routes M5 on Riverside Drive and M4 and M104 on Broadway.
and other donors, together with a consortium of religious denominations, with the objective of encouraging cooperative work among such diverse religious groups as the Orthodox, African-American, and mainstream Protestant denominations and to foster the growth of ecumenical bodies such as the National Council of Churches USA.
In the presence of a crowd of more than 30,000 gathered at the building site, the Center's cornerstone was laid by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower
, whose Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles
, and Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Arthur S. Flemming, were active in the work of the National Council of Churches.
led a series of sit-ins at denominational offices in the building, demanding that the denominations pay reparations to Black Americans. At the height of the protests, half of the Center's 2,000 employees stayed away form work in support of Forman. The New York State Supreme Court finally barred Forman form the building.
Over the 50-year history of the facility, some national churches such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
and the Presbyterian Church USA, following mergers with sister churches, relocated their primary offices to cities nearer to the majority of their constituencies, but have continued to maintain significant operations in the Interchurch Center.
Several city and state denominational offices, the Council of Churches of the City of New York, and groups as varied as Agricultural Missions, Inc., and the Foundation for Christian Higher Education in Asia also occupy space in the Center, along with offices and classrooms of New York Theological Seminary
, and offices of The Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
National interfaith ministries in the building include Religion Communicators Council
, Odyssey Networks (a religious media distribution agency of the National Interfaith Cable Coalition), and the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility.
architecture historian Andrew Dolkart
calls the Center "an undistinguished, bulky, limestone building." Other critics have called it "clumsily articulated," and "a squat cube,"
A Wednesday noontime concert series during the spring and fall features classical, gospel, jazz and choral music at no charge and open to the general public. The Interchurch Center Chorus and the Gospel Choir, both populated by tenant employees, present periodic concerts in the Center's chapel.
Riverside Drive (Manhattan)
Riverside Drive is a scenic north-south thoroughfare in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The boulevard runs on the west side of Manhattan, generally parallel to the Hudson River from 72nd Street to near the George Washington Bridge at 181st Street...
and West 120th Street in New York City. Besides renting to many secular non-profits, it is the headquarters for the National Council of Churches USA and its sister humanitarian organization Church World Service
Church World Service
Founded in 1946, Church World Service is a cooperative ministry of 37 Christian denominations and communions in the United States, providing sustainable self-help, development, disaster relief, and refugee assistance around the world...
, and also houses a wide variety of church agencies and ecumenical and interfaith organizations as well as many secular organizations.
Its concentration of religious organizations has led some to nickname the building the God Box. The current tenants include agencies of the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
, the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
, the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A., the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
, Reformed Church in America
Reformed Church in America
The Reformed Church in America is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 170,000 members, with the total declining in recent decades. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1819, it...
and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
. Samuel G. Freedman
Samuel G. Freedman
Samuel G. Freedman is an American author and journalist and currently a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has authored six nonfiction books, including most recently Who She Was, a book about his mother's life as a teenager and young woman, and Letters to a Young...
describes the building as the closest thing to a Vatican
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
for America’s mainline Protestant denominations. The mainline churches include the Episcopal, Lutheran Presbyterian, Methodist and United Church of Christ (Congregationalists) denominations.
The Center benefits from a strong religious and educational environment. One of its tenants is the New York Theological Seminary
New York Theological Seminary
The New York Theological Seminary was established as a non-denominational institution in 1900 with the founding of the Bible Teachers’ College in Montclair, New Jersey by Wilbert Webster White. President White moved the school to New York City in 1902, when it was renamed the Bible Teachers’...
. The building is located across from The Riverside Church, Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and is a short walk to Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
, Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, and the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, all in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Upper West Side. It is convenient to public rail transportation via subway line #1 at 116th Street, the M60 bus line from LaGuardia Airport, and north-south bus routes M5 on Riverside Drive and M4 and M104 on Broadway.
History
The Center was built in 1958 with gifts by John D. RockefellerJohn D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
and other donors, together with a consortium of religious denominations, with the objective of encouraging cooperative work among such diverse religious groups as the Orthodox, African-American, and mainstream Protestant denominations and to foster the growth of ecumenical bodies such as the National Council of Churches USA.
In the presence of a crowd of more than 30,000 gathered at the building site, the Center's cornerstone was laid by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, whose Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world...
, and Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Arthur S. Flemming, were active in the work of the National Council of Churches.
Incidents
In 1969 Black militant James FormanJames Forman
James Forman was an American Civil Rights leader active in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Black Panther Party, and the International Black Workers Congress...
led a series of sit-ins at denominational offices in the building, demanding that the denominations pay reparations to Black Americans. At the height of the protests, half of the Center's 2,000 employees stayed away form work in support of Forman. The New York State Supreme Court finally barred Forman form the building.
Tenants
The Center's current occupants include mission boards, pension boards, and other agencies of several national denominations. Expanding on its original mission of providing a collaborative environment for a community of widely differing Christian denominations and their ecumenical activities, the Center now also houses a growing number of interfaith groups, including The Interfaith Center of New York, plus several Jewish and Muslim organizations.Over the 50-year history of the facility, some national churches such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
and the Presbyterian Church USA, following mergers with sister churches, relocated their primary offices to cities nearer to the majority of their constituencies, but have continued to maintain significant operations in the Interchurch Center.
Several city and state denominational offices, the Council of Churches of the City of New York, and groups as varied as Agricultural Missions, Inc., and the Foundation for Christian Higher Education in Asia also occupy space in the Center, along with offices and classrooms of New York Theological Seminary
New York Theological Seminary
The New York Theological Seminary was established as a non-denominational institution in 1900 with the founding of the Bible Teachers’ College in Montclair, New Jersey by Wilbert Webster White. President White moved the school to New York City in 1902, when it was renamed the Bible Teachers’...
, and offices of The Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
National interfaith ministries in the building include Religion Communicators Council
Religion Communicators Council
The Religion Communicators Council is a U.S. nonprofit organization representing marketing, communications and public relations officers from 60 different faith-based institutions. Founded in 1929 as the Religious Publicity Council, it changed its name to the Religious Public Relations Council in...
, Odyssey Networks (a religious media distribution agency of the National Interfaith Cable Coalition), and the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility.
Architecture
The simplicity of the building's architecture has caused some critics to disparage its design. Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
architecture historian Andrew Dolkart
Andrew Dolkart
Andrew Scott Dolkart is the James Marston Fitch Associate Professor of Historic Preservation at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and Director of the school's Historic Preservation Program...
calls the Center "an undistinguished, bulky, limestone building." Other critics have called it "clumsily articulated," and "a squat cube,"
Facilities and Services
Amenities provided to organizations and agencies who occupy the Center are:- ecumenical chapel, complete with a major pipe organ installation;
- conference center with multiple breakout spaces, auditorium, boardroom;
- medical clinic;
- ecumenical library, with 17,000 books and 60 periodical titles;
- full-service cafeteria, buffet dining room, and catering operation;
- art gallery where paintings, sculpture and photography exhibits are rotated throughout the year.
- multi-level parking garage beneath the building.
A Wednesday noontime concert series during the spring and fall features classical, gospel, jazz and choral music at no charge and open to the general public. The Interchurch Center Chorus and the Gospel Choir, both populated by tenant employees, present periodic concerts in the Center's chapel.