St. Francis Xavier Church
30 West 16th Street | Flatiron | built 1865
Open on the map4 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.
- 1882
Archbishop Corrigan dedicates the new church designed by Patrick Keely
The cornerstone of the replacement church was laid in May 1878 on land west of the old building. The Irish-born architect Patrick Charles Keely gave it a Roman Basilica style and a front of bluish-gray Monson granite with an arcaded portico, and the Morgan brothers made the stained glass. Archbishop Michael Corrigan dedicated it on December 3, 1882.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1957
Father Anthony Woods arrives at a parish that patronizes Village and Chelsea arts
Father Anthony Woods, a priest with artistic tastes and progressive politics who marched for civil rights, came to the parish in 1957. The church was then an important patron of artistic life in the Village and Chelsea, and its theater was home to the Village Light Opera Company, the Village Players and the Xavier Symphony Orchestra. The jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams later joined the parish.
Source: tools.bard.edu
- 1962
A civil rights mass for Martin de Porres premieres a jazz hymn by Mary Lou Williams
On November 3, 1962, the church at 30 West 16th Street held its third yearly civil rights mass for Martin de Porres, a Peruvian saint of African descent. The Rev. Walter M. Abbott preached, and Ethel Fields sang a new jazz hymn to the saint, credited to Mary Lou Williams with Father Woods as collaborator. It was Williams's first sacred jazz work meant for Catholic liturgy, Black Christ of the Andes.
Source: tools.bard.edu
- 2010
A nine-year restoration of the church is completed
A restoration campaign that began in 2001 finished in 2010. EverGreene Architectural Arts directed the work with the architect Thomas A. Fenniman. The Jesuit-run parish had been using the Keely-designed building since 1882.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
Nearby
- Margaret Sanger Clinic17 West 16th Street | 4 entries
- Adorama building45 West 17th Street | 7 entries
- Judge Building110 5th Avenue | 4 entries
- R. H. Macy & Co. Store, 14th Street Annex56 West 14th Street | 9 entries
- Arnhold Hall55 West 13th Street | 5 entries
- Ladies' Art Association Building6 West 14th Street | 5 entries