St. Leonard's Anglican Church
767 Putnam Avenue | also 765 Putnam Avenue | Bedford-Stuyvesant | built 1936
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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.
- 1910
Congregation Shaari Zedek dedicates its new synagogue at 767 Putnam Avenue, designed by Eugene Schoen
The congregation, organized in 1902 as an English-speaking, self-described conservative synagogue, had its first building on Quincy Street. In 1909 it commissioned Eugene Schoen to design a new building at 767 Putnam Avenue. The building was dedicated on September 25, 1910.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1910
The synagogue is a two-story brick building with cast stone trim and an arched sanctuary
Classical motifs share the facade with geometric patterns of rectangles, squares and diamonds, and three tall arched stained-glass windows sit above the entrance. Inside, the mosaic floors include a Star of David, and a balcony runs around three sides of the sanctuary. An original metal chandelier is decorated with Star of David motifs.
“The design combines classical motifs with abstract geometric patterns of rectangles, squares and diamonds.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1924
Shaari Zedek sells the Putnam Avenue synagogue to Congregation Achavat Achim and moves to Park Place
Shaari Zedek's growth continued, and it left the building in 1924 for a larger one at Kingston Avenue and Park Place, which it used until 1969. It sold the Putnam Avenue synagogue to Achavat Achim, an older Conservative congregation that was a branch of Beth Elohim, Brooklyn's first synagogue. Achavat Achim owned it until 1944.
“In 1924, Shaari Zedek sold its building to an older Conservative Brooklyn synagogue named Achavat Achim, a branch of Brooklyn's first synagogue, Beth Elohim.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1944
St. Leonard's, an Afro-Caribbean Anglican church, buys the building as the neighborhood changes
Amid demographic change that made Bedford-Stuyvesant heavily African-American, Achavat Achim sold the building in 1944 to St. Leonard's. Founded in 1936 by a couple dozen Afro-Caribbean immigrants, mostly Barbadians, the congregation made only a few changes, and a recess that held the ark now holds the altar. Rector Trevor Bentley has said Barbadian Anglicans were not welcome in the Episcopal Church.
“…it sold the building to an Afro-Caribbean church in the Anglican tradition named St. Leonard's.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1950
Archbishop Donald M. Forster, a founding member, begins 25 years as rector of St. Leonard's
Forster was among St. Leonard's founders and was its rector for the 25 years between 1950 and his death in 1975. Under his leadership the congregation became part of the Afro-American Orthodox Church, which was not aligned with the Anglican Communion. That link ended at some point after his death, and the church later joined the Anglican Church in North America.
“Archbishop Donald M. Forster, who was a founding member of St. Leonard's and its rector from 1950 until his death in 1975.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2009
The former synagogue and church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The building, constructed in 1909 to 1910, has been on the National Register since 2009. The nomination form says the church made a few modifications after buying it in 1944 but that the building keeps its integrity of design, materials and association. The original cast stone pediment has been replaced with stucco.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Shaari Zedek SynagogueWikipedia
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