Williamsburgh Trust Company Building (Holy Trinity Cathedral)
177 South 5th Street | Williamsburg | built 1906
Open on the map6 entries
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.
- 1906
Helmle, Huberty & Hudswell's white terra-cotta bank temple opens beside the Williamsburg Bridge
Completed in 1906, the Williamsburgh Trust Company's headquarters is a Neoclassical building by Helmle, Huberty & Hudswell with Ionic porticos, a saucer dome and bright white terra-cotta walls, unusual at a time when classical-style buildings were generally clad in granite, marble or limestone. The company apparently meant it to stand in isolation, and all four of its facades are fully developed.
“The building is remarkable for its facing material of bright white terra cotta ... The four fully developed facades of the Williamsburgh Trust Company Building are an especially rare and extravagant feature.”
- 1907
The trust company closes in the Panic of 1907, and its president's family is indicted
The Williamsburgh Trust Company closed on October 25, 1907, along with the two other 'Jenkins banks,' as the Panic of 1907 hit Wall Street. President Frank Jenkins gave way to Marshall Driggs, and John G. Jenkins and three of his sons were indicted for obtaining loans beyond legal limits. The charges against two sons were dropped, one was acquitted, and the father died in March 1908 awaiting trial. The company reopened in June 1908 under new leadership but left the building in 1910.
- 1916
The city turns the empty bank into the Fifth District Magistrates' Court
The city bought the vacant Williamsburgh Trust Company Building in August 1915 for use as the Fifth District Magistrates' Court, and conversion work was finished in October 1916. The court stayed for more than 40 years until it closed on March 1, 1958, despite protests from local politicians and prominent figures.
“…the city did not officially acquire the Williamsburgh Trust Company Building until August of 1915 ... it closed as a courthouse on March 1, 1958.”
- 1960
An auto-body shop owner buys the empty courthouse for $19,000 and finds it too tough to demolish
After two failed auctions, Bessie and Saul Deutch, who ran a nearby auto body shop, bought the vacant building in October 1960 for $19,000. They considered removing the dome, making it a social hall, or tearing it down for a replica antique car advertising their collision shop. Saul told the Herald Tribune it was built like a battleship and demolition quotes were too high.
- 1961
A Ukrainian Orthodox church in exile buys the building and makes it Holy Trinity Cathedral
The Holy Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church in Exile bought the building in 1961 for its Holy Trinity Cathedral and administrative center. Its cross-shaped plan and central dome suited Orthodox worship, but leaks, collapsing ceilings and rusted beams needed repair. Architect Apollinare Osadca designed the conversion, finished in early 1963. In 1980 the church ceased to be independent and its members largely joined the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA.
- 2016
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the Williamsburgh Trust Company Building
The Landmarks Preservation Commission's designation report is dated August 9, 2016. It followed a special public hearing on October 8, 2015, where one owner's representative opposed designation and eight people spoke in favor, among them representatives of the Historic Districts Council and the Municipal Art Society. The report calls it a superlative example of the 'banking temples' built in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Nearby
- Forman Building195 Broadway | 7 entries
- Williamsburgh Savings Bank (The Weylin)175 Broadway | 9 entries
- Peter Luger Steak House848 Driggs Avenue | 5 entries
- Meadowsweet149 Broadway | 3 entries
- Long Island Business College143 South 8th Street | 11 entries
- Kings County Savings Bank135 Broadway | 7 entries