Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection
59 East 2nd Street | East Village | built 1891
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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.
- 1867
A mission society turns a house on part of the site into Olivet Chapel
Between 1867 and 1873 the New York City Mission and Tract Society converts a house on one of the lots here into a church called Olivet Chapel. In 1891 this chapel is replaced by the current Gothic Revival building, which stands on three combined lots.
- 1891
J. C. Cady & Co. completes the Gothic Revival Olivet Memorial Church
D. H. McAlpin and his sister Mrs. Pyle give $65,000 for a new church, and the firm of Josiah Cleaveland Cady designs it in Gothic Revival style, faced in undressed Kentucky limestone. The church opens on December 27, 1891. Its auditorium seats about 1,000, and the building also holds fourteen classrooms, five halls for large classes, and a gymnasium.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1895
Olivet Memorial Church holds services in three languages and runs a sewing room
In 1895 Olivet Memorial Church conducts services in English, German, and Armenian for the immigrant neighborhood around it. Local women and girls do needlework in its large sewing room, earning 15 cents an hour in credit toward the finished clothing.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1943
The Russian Orthodox Church buys the building and renames it
Olivet Memorial Church merges with Middle Collegiate Church in 1942. In January 1943 the New York Times reports that the building has been sold to the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of North America, which renames it the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection and redecorates the interior in Byzantine style.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 2012
The city designates the building part of a historic district
The Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection lies within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District, which the city designates in 2012. Its limestone facade has stained-glass Gothic windows, a Tudor-arched entrance, and crenellated turrets.
Further reading
- The 1891 Olivet Memorial Church - 59-63 East Second StreetDaytonian in Manhattan
- 59-63 East 2nd StreetVillage Preservation: East Village Building Blocks
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