Church of the Holy Communion and Buildings
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Church of the Holy Communion and Buildings
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The buildings in 2010, as the Limelight Marketplace
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| Location | 656-662 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue) Manhattan, New York City |
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| Coordinates | 40°44′27.8″N 73°59′38″W / 40.741056°N 73.99389°WCoordinates: 40°44′27.8″N 73°59′38″W / 40.741056°N 73.99389°W |
| Built | 1844 |
| Architect | Richard Upjohn |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 80002680 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 17, 1980 |
| Designated NYCL | 1966 |
The Church of the Holy Communion and Buildings are historic Episcopal church buildings at 656-662 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) at West 20th Street in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City.
The church is a New York City landmark, designated in 1966, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is located within New York City's Ladies' Mile Historic District.
The Gothic Revival church building was constructed in 1844-1845 according to a design by Richard Upjohn, and was consecrated in 1846. In 1853 Upjohn completed the Parish House and Rectory on West 20th Street, and in 1854 he built the Sister's House. The design of the church, which features brownstone blocks chosen for placement at random, made the church "one of the most influential buildings of the 19th century". It was:
[the] first asymmetrical Gothic Revival church edifice in the United States ... Upjohn designed the building to resemble a small medieval English parish church ... The church's founder, the Reverend William Muhlenberg, a leader of the evangelical Catholic within the Episcopal Church, was closely involved with the design ...
Muhlenberg believed that the Gothic style was "the true architectural expression of Christianity."
At the time it was built, the neighborhood around the church was still a fashionable residential area, with homes lining Sixth Avenue. By the late 19th century, as the city continued to expand uptown, the area had become part of the "Ladies' Mile" shopping district, with Sixth Avenue lined with giant department stores and dry goods emporia, which by World War I had all either moved uptown or closed.
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