St. Barbara's Roman Catholic Church

299 Central Avenue | also 138 Bleecker Street, 309 Central Avenue | Bushwick | built 1910

Open on the map6 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. 1893

    German-descended Bushwick residents found St. Barbara's parish, run by the Redemptorists

    The parish is founded in 1893 by Bushwick residents of German extraction, and the Redemptorist order of priests establishes it. Many early parishioners work in the neighborhood's breweries. The Diocese of Brooklyn approves the new parish to relieve crowding at the nearby German-speaking church of St. Leonard's.

    “Established in 1893, St. Barbara's parish was founded by residents of Bushwick who were of German extraction. Many of the church's early parishioners worked nearby in Bushwick's many breweries.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1900

    The congregation, outgrowing its first church beside a brewery, starts raising money for a larger one

    Earlier on this site, the parish's first church stood on Bleecker Street next to the Eppig & Ibert Brewery, whose brewer Joseph Eppig was a founding member of the congregation. By 1900 the parish has outgrown it and begins raising funds for a bigger building. The original church and its rectory are later torn down to make room for the present church.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1907

    August

    Helmle & Huberty file plans for a Spanish Colonial Revival church after the pastor studies church design in Europe

    The architects Helmle & Huberty file plans for the new church in August 1907. According to a newspaper account, the pastor, James F. Hanselmann, travels to Europe beforehand to study church architecture. The Spanish Colonial Revival style they settle on is fairly uncommon in the northeastern United States, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission writes that the architects appear to have worked closely with the pastor on the choice.

    “Plans for the new church were filed in August 1907 by the architects Helmle & Huberty. The architects appear to have worked closely with the church's pastor…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1910

    December

    The new St. Barbara's is dedicated after the P.J. Carlin company builds it with terra cotta from South Amboy

    The church is dedicated in December 1910, when it goes into full use. Its basement was already serving for services when the cornerstone was laid in 1909. The P.J. Carlin Construction Company builds it, the South Amboy Terra Cotta Company makes the terra cotta, and Carter, Black & Ayers supplies the face brick.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  5. 1977

    After the 1977 blackout, St. Barbara's is left among the few buildings standing around it

    A power blackout in 1977 brings widespread looting and fires to the area, and housing abandonment follows. The neighborhood and the congregation shrink sharply, and the church remains for a time one of the few buildings left standing nearby. By the early 1980s the Hope Gardens housing project begins the recovery, and the parish later regains its pre-riot number of parishioners.

    “The population of the neighborhood and the parish's congregation shrunk significantly after a power blackout in 1977 resulted in widespread lootings and fires…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  6. 2016

    December 13

    The city designates St. Barbara's a landmark after the Diocese of Brooklyn opposes it at a 2015 hearing

    The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the church on December 13, 2016. It first held a hearing in July 1980, where a representative of the owner spoke against designation. At an October 2015 hearing on a backlog of Brooklyn buildings, preservation groups testified in favor, while a representative of the Diocese of Brooklyn opposed it and Councilmember Rafael Espinal sent a written submission against it.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Further reading

Nearby

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