Saints Kyril and Metodi Cathedral
552 West 50th Street | Hell's Kitchen | built 1932
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.
- 1887
A tenement fire clears the way for a ribbon factory
A fire destroys a tenement at 552 West 50th Street on September 4, 1887. Manufacturer Steinhardt & Son rebuilds the lot as a three-story brick ribbon factory, which operates there until 1897.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1897
Rev. Herman von Hollen founds Hell's Kitchen's first Lutheran church
German-born minister Herman von Hollen organizes the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Savior in March 1897, the first Lutheran congregation in Hell's Kitchen, and that October buys the vacant ribbon factory for $12,000 to serve as its home. Architects Kurtzer & Rohl convert the factory into a church and mission house seating about 400.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1915
A Croatian Catholic parish buys the building for Saints Cyril and Methodius
On January 1, 1915, von Hollen sells the building to a Croatian Catholic congregation, which dedicates it to Saints Cyril and Methodius to serve the neighborhood's growing Croatian immigrant population. Architect Frederick J. Schwartz redesigns the façade with neo-Gothic details, finishing the work that September.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1984
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church consecrates the building as its cathedral
The Croatian congregation, grown to about 4,000 members, moves to the larger St. Raphael's Church in 1974, leaving the building vacant for several years. The Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church buys the property in 1979 and, after a $500,000 interior renovation, consecrates it as Saints Kyril and Metodi Cathedral on May 13, 1984.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Saints Kyril & Metodi Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocesan CathedralWikipedia
- The Evangelical Lutheran Savior (Sts. Kyril & Metodi Bulgarian Cathedral) 552 W. 50th St.Daytonian in Manhattan
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