St. Patrick's Old Cathedral
256 Mulberry Street | Nolita | built 1900
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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.
- 1815
New York's first St. Patrick's Cathedral is dedicated on Mulberry Street
Designed by Joseph-François Mangin in the Gothic Revival style, the cathedral was built between 1809 and 1815 and dedicated on May 14, 1815. It served as the seat of the Catholic diocese until the new St. Patrick's Cathedral opened in 1879, after which it became a parish church. Its catacombs hold family crypts and the remains of Bishop John Connolly, the first resident bishop.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1817
St. Patrick's is incorporated as a congregation of its own, separate from St. Peter's
In 1817, two years after the church was dedicated, St. Patrick's was set up as a congregation of its own, apart from St. Peter's Church. Its architect, Joseph Francois Mangin, was one of the architects of City Hall, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission calls it the earliest Gothic-style church still standing in Manhattan.
“In 1817, St. Patrick's was incorporated as a congregation separate from St. Peter's Church.”
- 1836
Catholics defend the cathedral with muskets against nativist rioters
In 1836, as anti-Catholic tensions boiled over, nativist rioters threatened the cathedral. Defenders cut loopholes in the church's outer walls, which had been built only in 1834, and guarded the building with muskets. Afterward the Ancient Order of Hibernians set up its headquarters across the street from the church.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1838
John Hughes becomes the first bishop consecrated in New York, at St. Patrick's
In 1838 John Hughes became the first bishop to be consecrated in New York, in a ceremony at St. Patrick's. An Irish immigrant himself, he was an active supporter of migrant associations. The diocese grew with the influx of Irish and German Catholics, and in 1850 New York became an archdiocese with Hughes as its archbishop.
- 1838
Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart's librettist, is given his funeral here
Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart's longtime librettist, dies in New York after fleeing to America in 1805, and his funeral is held at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral before an enormous crowd. He had spent his final years in the city as a Columbia University professor, later helping start what becomes the Metropolitan Opera.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1859
The 'Diamond Wedding' of a Cuban landowner and an 18-year-old socialite is held at the cathedral
On October 13, 1859, the 55-year-old Cuban landowner Don Esteban Santa Cruz de Oviedo married 18-year-old Frances Amelia Bartlett at the cathedral. The press called it the Diamond Wedding after reports of the groom's lavish gifts of jewelry. The match also set off public debate and mockery about the gap in the couple's ages.
“…heralded by the press as "The Diamond Wedding," after the luxurious preparations were revealed, including opulent gifts of jewelry by the groom.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1866
A fire guts the Old Cathedral, which is rebuilt within months
On October 7, 1866, a fire that spread from a nearby shop gutted the cathedral. It was rebuilt quickly, and the first Mass in the restored church was celebrated on April 1, 1867. Much later, on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI raised the church to the rank of minor basilica.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1875
John McCloskey is invested as the first American cardinal at Old St. Patrick's
On April 27, 1875, Archbishop John McCloskey was invested as the first American cardinal in the Old Cathedral on Mulberry Street. A new cathedral had been planned uptown on Fifth Avenue since 1853, and the downtown church stayed in use in the meantime. When the uptown building was finished in 1879, Old St. Patrick's became a parish church.
- 1966
The city designates St. Patrick's Old Cathedral a landmark
New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission designates St. Patrick's Old Cathedral an individual city landmark. The recognition comes a century after the 1866 fire that gutted the church and eleven years before the building is separately added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2004
The 1868 Erben organ is named an instrument of exceptional historical merit
The gallery of the Old Cathedral holds a large pipe organ built in 1868 by Henry Erben, which originally worked without electricity. When the Fifth Avenue cathedral opened in 1879, the organ stayed downtown with few changes. In 2004 the Organ Historical Society recognized it as worthy of preservation, and it still serves Sunday services while awaiting further restoration.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2010
Pope Benedict XVI names Old St. Patrick's a minor basilica on St. Patrick's Day
On March 17, 2010, Saint Patrick's Day, Pope Benedict XVI declared the former cathedral a minor basilica. The church had been the seat of the archdiocese until 1879. It is now a parish church, with services in four languages: English, Italian, Spanish and Chinese.
“It was declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, 2010.”
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- St. Patrick's Old CathedralWikipedia
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