St. Teresa Church

143 Henry Street | Two Bridges | built 1910

Open on the map3 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

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

  1. 1842

    April 21

    Rutgers Street Presbyterian Church dedicates its new Gothic Revival building

    Presbyterians have worshipped at this corner since 1798, when a wooden church opened on land given by Henry Rutgers. The new stone church, whose architect's name is not known, is dedicated in 1842 in the Gothic Revival style, with brownstone trim, shallow buttresses and pointed arches. The belfry holds four hand-wound clocks that are now considered the oldest of their kind in the city.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  2. 1863

    June 21

    St. Teresa's parish takes over the former Presbyterian church

    After the Presbyterian congregation sells the building and merges with a church on Madison Avenue, the newly formed St. Teresa's parish buys it for $46,000 to serve Catholic immigrants moving into the neighborhood. The rededication draws such a crowd that hundreds are turned away despite an admission fee. The church is not formally consecrated until 1882, when its purchase debt is finally paid off.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1995

    The sanctuary's ceiling collapses, and parishioners fight to save the church

    In 1995 the vaulted ceiling collapses, sending about 60,000 pounds of plaster through the floor into the basement parish hall. Some argue the damaged church should close, but pastor Dennis Sullivan and the parishioners refuse, and the parish pays for repairs by selling its parking lot and air rights. The church reopens in early winter 2002, and Cardinal Edward Egan rededicates it in early 2003.

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

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All 43 buildings with stories in Two Bridges