St. Joseph's Church

365 Avenue of the Americas | also 103 Washington Place, 101 Washington Place | West Village | built 1834

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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. 1833

    June 10

    The parish lays the cornerstone of St. Joseph's Church

    Bishop John Dubois founded St. Joseph's parish in 1829, and its congregation laid the cornerstone of the present church in 1833. John Doran designed the Greek Revival building, which was constructed in 1833 and 1834. It is the oldest church in New York City built specifically as a Roman Catholic sanctuary.

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. 1857

    Father Thomas Farrell takes over as pastor and champions liberal causes

    Farrell served from 1857 to 1880. During the Civil War he pushed for political rights for freed Black Americans, and in 1873 he spoke up for public schools for Catholic children. He also took part in "the Accademia," a group of priests who met at the church to debate changes such as ending priestly celibacy, which strained his relations with Cardinal McCloskey.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1873

    Pastor Thomas Farrell publicly backs public schools for Catholic children, angering other priests

    In 1873, St. Joseph's liberal pastor Thomas Farrell, who served from 1857 to 1880, angered other priests by speaking up for public schooling for Catholic students. He argued that the public schools had ample means, could hire better teachers and did not interfere with pupils' religious belief. He called the priests who threatened parents considering that option "sinners" and accused them of seeking to perpetuate ignorance.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1883

    Farrell's bequest founds St. Benedict the Moor, a parish for Black New Yorkers

    Thomas Farrell, pastor of St. Joseph's until 1880, had pushed for emancipation and for political rights for freed Black people during the Civil War. When he died he left $5,000 to start a new parish for Black New Yorkers. That money led to the creation of St. Benedict the Moor, a church established in 1883.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  5. 1885

    A second fire damages the church's interior

    Fires damaged the church's interior in 1855 and again in 1885, while the exterior stayed essentially unchanged. The early paneled and gated pews were brought in after the second fire, most likely from the gutted Third Universalist Society church a few blocks south on Sixth Avenue.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  6. 1897

    A new St. Joseph's School building replaces the old one and stands beside the church

    St. Joseph's School opened in 1855, with Sisters of Charity instructing the neighborhood's girls and Christian Brothers its boys. Its first building stood along Leroy Street. In 1897 that building was replaced by a new school building right next to the church.

    Source: Wikipedia

  7. 1972

    Restorers rediscover a painted-over fresco after Raphael's Transfiguration

    An interior renovation completed in 1972 uncovered the church's 1880s fresco above the altar, a copy of Raphael's Transfiguration in the Vatican. It had been painted over when the Victorian interior was toned down in the 20th century. The fresco was restored, and a 1991 remodeling later removed the small crystal chandeliers in the galleries.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  8. 1982

    Gay Men's Health Crisis, founded in 1982, holds its first meeting at St. Joseph's

    Gay Men's Health Crisis was founded in January 1982 by a group that included Larry Kramer and Paul Popham, who met at Kramer's home. Its first meeting was held at St. Joseph's, the Greenwich Village church on Sixth Avenue. The group was incorporated as a tax-exempt entity on June 30, 1982, with Popham as president, and was then the largest volunteer AIDS organization in the world.

    Source: Wikipedia

  9. 1991

    A 1991 remodeling removes the small crystal chandeliers from the church galleries

    A remodeling in 1991 took out the crystal chandeliers in the galleries, which were miniature versions of the larger chandeliers that still hang over the main aisle. Daytonian in Manhattan notes that the church's exterior stayed essentially unchanged over the years while its interior was altered.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  10. 2023

    July 30

    Cardinal Dolan dedicates the Divine Mercy Chapel, the city's first for perpetual adoration

    On July 30, 2023, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, dedicated the Divine Mercy Chapel, newly added to the church; it is the city's first chapel for perpetual adoration. Dominican priests have staffed the parish since it merged with NYU's Catholic Center in December 2003.

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

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