Judson Poets Theatre

Judson Memorial Church, Campanile and Judson Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New York City Landmark
(2011)
Show map of Lower Manhattan Show map of New York Show map of the US
Location	Washington Square South & Thompson Street, Manhattan, New York, United States
Coordinates	40°43′49″N 73°59′54″W / 40.73028°N 73.99833°W / 40.73028; -73.99833Coordinates: 40°43′49″N 73°59′54″W / 40.73028°N 73.99833°W / 40.73028; -73.99833
Built	Sanctuary: 1888–93 Campanile: 1895–96 Hall: 1877
Architect	Sanctuary: Stanford White Campanile: McKim,Mead & White Hall: John G. Prague
Architectural style	Italian Renaissance
NRHP Reference #	74001274
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 16, 1974
Designated NYCL	May 17, 1966

The Judson Memorial Church is located on Washington Square South between Thompson Street and Sullivan Street, opposite Washington Square Park, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and with the United Church of Christ.

The church sanctuary, its campanile tower and the attached Judson Hall were designated landmarks by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1966, and were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

By the mid-19th century, the village had the largest African-American community in the city, along with joined German, French and Irish immigrants, and to the immediate south a majority of Italian immigrants. Earlier more affluent communities had begun an exodus from the adjacent neighborhoods to the south and east. Judson observed that "the intelligent, well-to-do, and church going people withdraw from 'this part of the city'." The park and the new church stood at the intersection between the affluence of Fifth Avenue and the poverty of Lower Manhattan.

The church was founded by Edward Judson who had been preaching at the Berean Baptist Church on Downing Street, also in the village, but his efforts at expanding the congregation were so successful that a new sanctuary was required. In 1888, with the backing of John D. Rockefeller and other prominent Baptists, construction of a new church south of the park was begun. Judson had chosen the location because he wanted to reach out to the neighboring communities. It was to be a memorial to Judson's father, Adoniram Judson, one of the first Protestant missionaries to Burma. The church building was designed by architect Stanford White, with stained-glass windows by John La Farge. It features Renaissance influences wedded to a basic Italianate form. Sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens designed a marble frieze in the baptistery, which was carried out by Herbert Adams; it was completed in 1893.