Tremont Baptist Church

324 East Tremont Avenue | Mount Hope | built 1912

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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. 1902

    October

    A Baptist mission society buys a frame house lot on the bend of East Tremont Avenue

    The New York City Baptist Mission Society bought this plot in October 1902, at the curve of East Tremont Avenue and East 176th Street from Henry A. Koelsch, as the future home of the Tremont Baptist Church. The land then held a large frame house and a smaller outbuilding, both later demolished. The society, incorporated in 1893, helped congregations grow by purchasing land for new churches and then deeding it over to them.

    “At the time, the site was occupied by a large frame house and a smaller outbuilding, which were subsequently demolished.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1904

    June 10

    Tremont Baptist breaks ground but can afford only a basement for now

    Led by Pastor Alvah E. Knapp, the congregation, organized in 1884 by 23 local residents, set out to replace the building it had outgrown on Washington Avenue. Manhattan architect William H. Birkmire filed plans on February 23, 1904, and work began on June 10. Funds ran short, so only the foundation and basement were finished, in 1906, and the congregation worshipped in the basement until the church above was completed in 1912.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1912

    August 31

    Birkmire's neo-Gothic auditorium church is finally completed above its basement

    Building resumed in October 1911, after the congregation had slowly raised more money, and the church was finished on August 31, 1912, with Birkmire still the architect of record. He combined an auditorium plan, an open worship space then losing favor with evangelical Protestants, with a picturesque neo-Gothic exterior modeled on Early English Gothic with French and Norman influences. The commission's report calls the church a noteworthy if late instance of the type.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1927

    Tremont Baptist reaches its peak of 261 members under the Rev. Lester Simon

    Membership peaked at 261 in 1927-28, during the pastorate of the Rev. Lester Simon, whose pastorate ran 31 years, 1919 through 1950. His tenure filled the calendar with groups including the Helpers' Society, Girl Reserves, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, the Greystone Club, the King's Daughters, a Men's Bible Class and the Young Worshipers' League. After World War II the church lost members as residents moved away from the neighborhood.

    “The church reached it peak membership of 261 in 1927-28, during the pastorate of the Reverend Lester Simon, who led the church for 31 years…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  5. 1976

    The Rev. Sylvanus Jarrett succeeds Dr. John Robinson Jr. as the church grows again

    In the early 1970s the Rev. Dr. John Robinson Jr. reorganized the church and extended its ministry into the neighborhood, starting a youth organization with a choir, after-school programs and tutoring, and raising money to restore the stained glass windows; membership grew steadily. The Rev. Sylvanus Jarrett, his successor from 1976, altered the sanctuary for new programs, improved security, repaired the pipe organ and launched further programs.

    “Further improvements have been made under the Reverend Sylvanus Jarrett, who succeeded Dr. Robinson in 1976.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  6. 2000

    February 8

    Tremont Baptist Church is designated a New York City landmark

    The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the church on February 8, 2000, after a December 1999 hearing where three witnesses, from the Historic Districts Council, the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the Bronx Landmarks Task Force, spoke in favor and none against. Council Member Adolfo Carrion Jr. wrote in support, and the congregation backed the designation. The commission pointed to the church's gray marble walls, steep roof, crenellated tower and remarkable intactness.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Further reading

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All 39 buildings with stories in Mount Hope