First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York facts for kids
Quick facts for kids First Hungarian Reformed Churchof New York |
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North elevation, 2008
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | United Church of Christ |
| Leadership |
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| Location | |
| Location | Upper East Side, New York, NY, USA |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Emery Roth |
| Architectural style | Hungarian vernacular |
| General contractor | McDermott & Henigan |
| Completed | 1916 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | North |
| Width | 35 feet (11 m) |
| Spire(s) | 1 |
| Spire height | 80 feet (24 m) |
| Materials | Stucco, brick |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Added to NRHP | August 31, 2000 |
| NRHP Reference no. | 00001012 |
The First Hungarian Reformed Church of New York is a special building on East 69th Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It is a brick building covered in stucco, finished in 1916. The church was built in a traditional Hungarian style and has been home to its church group since 1895.
This church is the only Christian religious building designed by Emery Roth. He was a Hungarian-born architect famous for his apartment buildings in New York. The church has been a key place for the city's Hungarian-American community since it was built. It is one of only two Hungarian Reformed Churches in Manhattan.
In 1983, the house next door, called the parsonage, was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a list of important historical places in the United States. The church itself and the parsonage were both added to this list in 2000. Today, it is the oldest church in its neighborhood.
Contents
The Church Building and Its Features
The church is on the south side of East 69th Street, between First and Second avenues. It sits among older rowhouses. The house next to the church on the west side is its parsonage, where the minister lives.
The church building has two stories and is made of brick covered in yellow stucco. A square bell tower rises from the middle of the roof. The front of the church faces north towards the street.
Outside the Church
On the front of the church, there are two windows on each side of the main entrance on the first floor. These windows have decorative ceramic panels above them. On the second floor, there are double windows with similar semicircular panels. In the middle, there is a large round window called an oculus.
The roof has an overhanging edge with exposed wooden beams. Above this, the bell tower stands tall. It has narrow windows on each side at the top. Each corner of the tower has a small pyramid-shaped decoration. The tower itself has a red, cone-shaped roof with a weathervane on top.
The main entrance has a small roof over it, supported by wooden braces. Below this roof are double wooden doors. Above the doors, there is a stained glass window with three parts, showing an eagle in the center. This entrance leads into a small area called a vestibule.
Inside the Church
From the vestibule, steps lead into the main part of the church, called the nave. The floor here has mosaic tiles with a Greek key pattern. The lower part of the walls is covered in marble. A central aisle runs between two rows of original wooden pews.
Tall columns divide the walls into sections. At the back of the church, the walls are angled and have beautiful stained glass windows with rounded tops. In one corner, there is a columbarium, which is a place for urns containing ashes.
The ceiling is curved and has a pattern of sunken panels called coffers. These coffers are painted with detailed designs and are gilded (decorated with gold). In the center of the ceiling, there are stained glass skylights that let in natural light. Hanging lights also help brighten the space.
A staircase in the northwest corner of the vestibule leads up to the choir loft. This area has wooden panels decorated with Hungarian folk art designs. The church's basement has been changed into an auditorium. A door near the back of the nave connects to the parsonage.
The Parsonage
The parsonage is a three-story brownstone rowhouse with a raised basement. It has a front staircase leading up to the main entrance. Like other houses in the row, it has decorated door and window frames. Many original features are still inside, such as paneled doors and high ceilings. The first floor is used as the church office, and the upper floors are living spaces.
History of the Church
The First Hungarian Reformed Church has a rich history tied to the Hungarian community in New York.
Early Hungarian Settlers
After the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, many Hungarian refugees came to New York. They started the first Hungarian-American newspaper. More Hungarians came in the 1880s, looking for better jobs. Most of them settled along Second Avenue.
In 1895, a minister named Bertalan Demeter started the First Hungarian Congregation. They held services in a chapel on 4th Street. Three years later, in 1889, a new pastor, Zoltan Kuthy, helped the group join the larger Hungarian Reformed churches in the U.S. As the church grew, they bought a house on East 7th Street for their services.
A Growing Community
By 1910, over 75,000 New Yorkers said they had Hungarian roots. These people came from different parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including modern-day Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia. They had various religious backgrounds, including Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, and Jewish.
In 1914, the church sold its house and bought three lots on East 69th Street. Two of the houses there were torn down to make space for the new church. The remaining house was fixed up to be the parsonage. Emery Roth, a Hungarian immigrant, was chosen to design the new church building. This was only his second religious building and his only Christian one, as he designed several synagogues in the city. He was likely chosen because he knew a lot about Hungarian building styles and had strong ties to the Hungarian community.
Hungarian Design Elements
Roth's design for the church includes many traditional Hungarian features. The stucco outside has colorful tile decorations. The roof hangs over the walls, showing the ends of the wooden beams. The conical tower roof is made of clay tiles. Inside, the ceiling has a pattern of sunken panels, which is common in churches in eastern Hungary. These 322 panels are hand-painted with Hungarian folk art designs. People have called the church "a charmingly exotic adaptation of Hungarian vernacular architecture."
The new church building was officially opened in early 1916. The bell from the old church was used in the new one. Since then, not much has changed, except for the parsonage being updated. A columbarium was added to the nave in the 1950s, and the basement was remodeled at some point.
The Hungarian Community Today
New York's Hungarian community was largest in the mid-20th century, with almost 125,000 people. The area around the church had many Hungarian bookstores and restaurants. Over time, the community became smaller as descendants of the original immigrants moved to other parts of the city or suburbs. New immigrants still attend the church, but they often settle outside Manhattan because the area has become more expensive. The church continues to serve the community, holding services in Hungarian every Sunday.
See also
In Spanish: Primera Iglesia Reformada Húngara para niños
