St. Mary’s Church
St. Mary’s is the oldest church in New York City, given the fact that the earlier St. Patrick’s on Mott Street was built as a Cathedral. In addition to its important place in the cultural and architectural heritage of the Catholic Church in New York, St. Mary’s has had a highly significant role in the unfolding story of immigration, a defining feature of the Lower East Side.
Since being named by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as among America’s Most Endangered Places in 2008, the Lower East Side has rapidly transformed. Contemporary towers are found on almost every street, replacing historic buildings that once provided links to our collective past. St. Mary’s, long an anchor on Grand Street, provides such a link. Built of fieldstone in 1833, and updated with a façade of warm brick and brownstone in 1864, it looks much the same as it did 160 years ago.
While St. Mary’s served first as a place of community for Irish immigrants seeking maritime jobs along the East River, it witnessed a succession of ethnic groups moving in and out of the neighborhood over the years. Today, it is a multi-ethnic congregation, dominated by a Latino population; well-attended services are held in Spanish and in English.
The Church of St. Mary’s clearly merits landmark designation for its architectural distinction and its important place within the history of New York. This effort is broadly supported by the community