Our Lady of Lourdes Church

463 West 142nd Street | Hamilton Heights | built 1912

Open on the map4 entries

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1902

    May 18

    Neighbors' lawsuits briefly halt construction, then the cornerstone is laid

    Some local residents objected to a Catholic church in Hamilton Heights and sued, stopping work for a short time. The cornerstone was laid on May 18, 1902, on the original site of Hamilton Grange. Monsignor Joseph MacMahon had organized the parish the year before for the area's Catholic residents, who first met in a converted dance hall at Amsterdam Avenue and 145th Street.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1903

    December 20

    Cardinal Farley dedicates the church built from architectural salvage

    Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York, dedicated Our Lady of Lourdes on December 20, 1903, and the building was finished in early 1904. Architectural writers of the period in The Architectural Record and The American Architect approved of the reuse of salvaged parts. One 1907 critic called it a worthwhile departure from ordinary church building and said the pastor had obtained a far better building than he could have afforded to build new.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1904

    Cornelius O'Reilly builds the church from pieces of three famous New York buildings

    Architect Cornelius O'Reilly of the O'Reilly Brothers firm reused parts of the National Academy of Design, St. Patrick's Cathedral and A. T. Stewart's mansion. Peter B. Wight's 1865 Venetian Gothic Academy building on East 23rd Street supplied the main design and fabric. The apse and one east window came from the old east end of St. Patrick's, and the pedestals beside the entrance steps came from Stewart's mansion at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. O'Reilly slipped from a ladder while inspecting the work and died in the rectory.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  4. 1975

    July 22

    The city designates the salvaged-stone church a landmark

    The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Our Lady of Lourdes a New York City landmark on July 22, 1975, describing it as an early and prominent case of adaptive reuse. Three witnesses spoke in favor of designation at the May 1975 public hearing, and no one spoke against it.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Further reading

Nearby

All 10 buildings with stories in Hamilton Heights