St. Philip's Episcopal Church (Harlem, New York)
Encyclopedia
St. Philip's Church also known as St. Philip's Protestant Episcopal Church, is a historic Episcopal
church located at 204 West 134th Street, just west of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue)) in Harlem
, New York, New York. It was founded in 1809 by Free Africans worshiping at Trinity Church, Wall Street as the Free African Church of St. Philip, and has had an important role in Harlem's history.
The first church foundation stone was laid in 1819, and the first rector from 1826 to 1840 was the Rev. Peter Williams, Jr., a leading abolitionist. The "first two sites were on Centre Street. In 1822, a brick building replaced the original wood frame church damaged by fire. This same building would undergo two more reconstructions. In 1834, irate whites vandalized the church and in 1863, New York City police used the church as a barracks for militia and police handling draft riots. By 1886 the church was located on 25th Street."
The present twentieth-century church building was designed by architects Vertner Woodson Tandy (1885 – 1949) and George Washington Foster
(1866 – 1923) of the firm Tandy & Foster
. Both were prominent African-American architects: Tandy being the first African-American architect licensed to practice in New York State and Foster being among the first licensed by the State of New Jersey. It was built in 1910-1911 in the Neo-Gothic
style.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 2008.
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
church located at 204 West 134th Street, just west of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue)) in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, New York, New York. It was founded in 1809 by Free Africans worshiping at Trinity Church, Wall Street as the Free African Church of St. Philip, and has had an important role in Harlem's history.
The first church foundation stone was laid in 1819, and the first rector from 1826 to 1840 was the Rev. Peter Williams, Jr., a leading abolitionist. The "first two sites were on Centre Street. In 1822, a brick building replaced the original wood frame church damaged by fire. This same building would undergo two more reconstructions. In 1834, irate whites vandalized the church and in 1863, New York City police used the church as a barracks for militia and police handling draft riots. By 1886 the church was located on 25th Street."
The present twentieth-century church building was designed by architects Vertner Woodson Tandy (1885 – 1949) and George Washington Foster
George Washington Foster
George Washington Foster was an early African-American architect. He was among the first African-American architects licensed by the State of New Jersey in 1908, and later New York...
(1866 – 1923) of the firm Tandy & Foster
Tandy & Foster
Tandy & Foster was an American architectural firm active from 1908 to 1914 in New York and New Jersey, based in New York City.Founded in 1908 by Vertner Woodson Tandy and George Washington Foster...
. Both were prominent African-American architects: Tandy being the first African-American architect licensed to practice in New York State and Foster being among the first licensed by the State of New Jersey. It was built in 1910-1911 in the Neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2008.