St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church
306 Rodney Street | also 334 South 5th Street, 310 Rodney Street | Williamsburg | built 1920
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.
- 1873
St. Paul's congregation buys lots at South Fifth and Rodney streets for $11,600 and waits to build
In 1873 the Lutheran congregation, begun in 1852, bought several lots at the junction of South Fifth Street and Ninth Street (later Rodney) for $11,600, a plot 156 feet along South Fifth Street and 87 feet along Ninth Street. Although it needed more room, the group chose to wait until it had raised enough money before starting the new building.
- 1884
The congregation lays the cornerstone of its new church after hiring J. C. Cady & Co.
A committee spent 1884 raising subscriptions, and another group chose J. C. Cady & Co. as architect. The cornerstone was laid on October 12, 1884. The parsonage was done the following June, the school building was occupied in September 1885, and on October 11, 1885 the church itself was dedicated.
“…the cornerstone for the new building was laid on October 12, 1884.”
- 1885
J. C. Cady's Romanesque Revival complex joins church, school and parsonage under a tall corner bell tower
Cady built the church of plain Holland and Philadelphia brick, trimmed sparingly in terra-cotta and stone, in keeping with the congregation's frugality. The parsonage and the attached school join the church in one group, anchored by a tall bell tower at the corner. Round arches and brick and terra-cotta moldings give the facades texture.
- 2011
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the church, Sunday school and parsonage a landmark
The commission held its public hearing on June 22, 2010; five speakers favored designation and none opposed it. The landmark designation came on April 12, 2011. The report describes a church that began as part of the German community and now serves a Spanish Lutheran congregation.
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