Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church

135 West 4th Street | Greenwich Village | built 1860

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Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1860

    The Sullivan Street Methodist congregation builds a larger Romanesque Revival church

    The Sullivan Street Methodist congregation completes a new and larger church at 135 West 4th Street in 1860. It is designed in the Romanesque Revival style. A balcony added later becomes the first in New York City held up without columns.

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1889

    May 30

    Martin George and Caroline Jenkyn marry after an 11-year separation

    Martin George leaves for the California gold mines in 1877, and he and Caroline Jenkyn keep up a romance by mail for more than eleven years. They agree to meet halfway in New York, where her ship docks on May 30, 1889. That evening they are married at the Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1969

    The church gives $15,000 toward reparations, the first mostly white congregation to do so

    In 1969 the National Black Economic Development Conference demands reparations for centuries of white oppression. The small Washington Square congregation withdraws $15,000 from its roughly $40,000 bank account and gives it, with no conditions attached. It is the first predominantly white congregation to contribute.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1977

    Pastor Paul Abels declares he is gay and begins covenant ceremonies for same-sex couples

    Paul Abels, pastor of the church since 1973, openly declares his homosexuality in 1977 and starts conducting covenant ceremonies for gay couples who cannot legally marry. The announcement stirs controversy in the wider Methodist Church but not among his congregation. In 1979 the national Judicial Council rules that he is in good standing and may remain as pastor.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  5. 2004

    The small congregation sells the church, which becomes the Novare condominiums

    The remaining congregation sells the building in 2004 because it can no longer afford the upkeep. The structure stands in the Greenwich Village Historic District, so it cannot be demolished. It is instead converted into a condominium building called Novare.

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 518 buildings with stories in Greenwich Village