Chapel of the Good Shepherd

543 Main Street | also 531 Main Street | Roosevelt Island | built 1975

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.

1888
Frederick Clarke Withers designs an Episcopal chapel for Blackwell's Island
The Chapel of the Good Shepherd was built in 1888 to designs by Frederick Clarke Withers, with the cost covered by a member of Grace Church parish. It became a city landmark on March 23, 1976, was restored in 2003, and now serves as the Good Shepherd Community Ecumenical Center for Episcopal services and other groups.
Source: Wikipedia
1888
Reverend William G. French becomes the chapel's first minister
French had already spent fifteen years as a missionary on the island before the Episcopal chapel opens. His appointment as the new chapel's first minister continues that mission inside Frederick Clarke Withers's freshly completed building, funded by a member of Grace Church parish.
Source: Wikipedia
1976
March 23
The city designates the chapel a landmark
New York City designates the chapel a landmark, four years after its addition to the National Register of Historic Places. The small stone building, designed by Frederick Clarke Withers and completed in 1888, has stood on the island for nearly a century by this point.
Source: Wikipedia
2003
The chapel reopens after restoration as an ecumenical center
Following restoration work to preserve the aging stone structure, the building reopens as the Good Shepherd Community Ecumenical Center. Episcopal worship services and other community groups use the space, continuing the chapel's role as an active place of worship on the island.
Source: Wikipedia

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