St. Thomas the Apostle Church

258 West 118th Street | also 256 West 118th Street, 260 West 118th Street | Harlem | built 1910

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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. 1889

    The parish of St. Thomas the Apostle is established for Irish immigrants

    The parish of St. Thomas the Apostle is established in 1889 for Irish immigrants, carved out of the St. Joseph of the Holy Family parish in Manhattanville. Its first pastor is Father John J. Keogan, formerly of County Cavan, Ireland. In 1897 Keogan buys St. Michael's Episcopal Church and holds services there until the new St. Thomas church is completed.

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1907

    The parish dedicates its permanent Gothic Revival church

    The parish dedicates its present church on West 118th Street in 1907, designed by Thomas H. Poole & Company. The building blends English Perpendicular Gothic with Moorish and Venetian Gothic elements. The AIA Guide to New York City singles out its finely detailed neo-Gothic facade, and the interior is noted for fan vaulting and German stained glass from the Mayer studio of Munich.

    Source: Wikipedia

  3. 1913

    April 13

    A fire destroys the parish school and damages the church

    On April 13, 1913, a fire destroys the parish school, which occupies the former Episcopal church bought in 1897, and damages the church of St. Thomas. Classes resume in the lower church until a new school is built.

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 2003

    Falling attendance and structural problems close the church

    In 2002 the church, designed to seat 800, draws only about 250 people to Sunday Mass, while facade repairs strain its finances and cracks appear in the main interior columns. The building is condemned in 2003, and the Salesians of Don Bosco, who have run the parish since 1979, pull out. The church closes that year.

    Source: Wikipedia

  5. 2016

    May

    Diamanda Galás performs in the renovated former church

    A developer, Artimus, buys the former church and rectory in 2013 and sets about restoring the building. In May 2016, Diamanda Galás performs a piano program in the renovated church, which now serves as a concert venue.

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

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All 46 buildings with stories in Harlem