On its website, The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany at 1393 York Avenue on the northwest corner at 74th Street describes itself as "The Right Size Church - the right size to welcome you, the right size to know you, the right size to include you."
The church apparently has been thinking a lot about size as a published report has indicated its present size may not be "right" and that it is marketing its air-rights for a mixed-use, 21-story building that will incorporate 20,000 square feet of church facilities and about 115,000 square feet of residential condominiums.
A recent article by Lois Weiss in The New York Post said the church had hired Jon Epstein of Cushman & Wakefield to market the air-rights and quoted Mr. Epstein as stating that the church is "looking to build an icon on York Avenue, to represent a 21st Century church in an urban setting."
Calls to Mr. Epstein from CityRealty.Com were not returned yesterday nor were calls to the Rev. Canon Andrew J. W. Mullins, the rector of the church.
It was not clear whether the existing church would be demolished for the new project.
The red-brick church is two blocks north of Sotheby's, the auction house, and is close to many high-rise "luxury" apartment towers.
In their fine book, "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City, Fourth Edition" (Three Rivers Press, 2000), Elliot Willensky and Norval write noted that the church structure was designed by Wyeth & King and opened in 1939. "The distinctive squat spire is a Scandinavian romance for Manhattan's avenuescapes. What a great silhouette!" the authors wrote.
In their great book, "New York 1930, Architecture and Urbanism Between The Two World Wars" (Rizzoli International Press, 1987), Robert A. M. Stern, Gregory Gilmartin and Thomas Mellins observed that "The church was entered as the back of the nave through a small vestibule on the side street: the squat, massive tower on York Avenue was in fact the chancel," adding that "Its high clerestory windows flooded the altar with light, a brilliantly dramatic effect in a church forced to forsake ornament for economy."
In discussing the church in his excellent book, "From Abysinnian to Zion, A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship" (Columbia University Press, 2004), David W. Dunlap, a reporter on architecture and real estate news for The New York Times, wrote that"In design terms, yes: an epiphany, an intriguingly different way of thinking about nave, chancel, and tower." The church, he continued, "is one of a handful of prewar houses of worship proving that imagination and a spirit of adventure are by no means incompatible with sacred architecture."
The church was founded in 1833, he continued, "as the first church of the New York Protestant Episcopal City Mission Society and was free - that is, without pew rentals - from the outset." "Its sanctuary opened in 1834 at 130 Stanton Street. From 1881 to 1893, it occupied the former St. Alban's Church, built in 1865 on East 47th Street, which later served as Epiphany's Heavenly Rest Chapel. The parish moved into and absorbed the Church of St. John the Baptist, built in 1856 at 257 Lexington Avenue. When Epiphany decided in 1937 that it was time to move again, Bishop William T. Manning insisted, contrary to the vestry's wishes, that it relocate near the East Side hospitals."
The chancel was designed by Eugene W. Mason.
The church apparently has been thinking a lot about size as a published report has indicated its present size may not be "right" and that it is marketing its air-rights for a mixed-use, 21-story building that will incorporate 20,000 square feet of church facilities and about 115,000 square feet of residential condominiums.
A recent article by Lois Weiss in The New York Post said the church had hired Jon Epstein of Cushman & Wakefield to market the air-rights and quoted Mr. Epstein as stating that the church is "looking to build an icon on York Avenue, to represent a 21st Century church in an urban setting."
Calls to Mr. Epstein from CityRealty.Com were not returned yesterday nor were calls to the Rev. Canon Andrew J. W. Mullins, the rector of the church.
It was not clear whether the existing church would be demolished for the new project.
The red-brick church is two blocks north of Sotheby's, the auction house, and is close to many high-rise "luxury" apartment towers.
In their fine book, "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City, Fourth Edition" (Three Rivers Press, 2000), Elliot Willensky and Norval write noted that the church structure was designed by Wyeth & King and opened in 1939. "The distinctive squat spire is a Scandinavian romance for Manhattan's avenuescapes. What a great silhouette!" the authors wrote.
In their great book, "New York 1930, Architecture and Urbanism Between The Two World Wars" (Rizzoli International Press, 1987), Robert A. M. Stern, Gregory Gilmartin and Thomas Mellins observed that "The church was entered as the back of the nave through a small vestibule on the side street: the squat, massive tower on York Avenue was in fact the chancel," adding that "Its high clerestory windows flooded the altar with light, a brilliantly dramatic effect in a church forced to forsake ornament for economy."
In discussing the church in his excellent book, "From Abysinnian to Zion, A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship" (Columbia University Press, 2004), David W. Dunlap, a reporter on architecture and real estate news for The New York Times, wrote that"In design terms, yes: an epiphany, an intriguingly different way of thinking about nave, chancel, and tower." The church, he continued, "is one of a handful of prewar houses of worship proving that imagination and a spirit of adventure are by no means incompatible with sacred architecture."
The church was founded in 1833, he continued, "as the first church of the New York Protestant Episcopal City Mission Society and was free - that is, without pew rentals - from the outset." "Its sanctuary opened in 1834 at 130 Stanton Street. From 1881 to 1893, it occupied the former St. Alban's Church, built in 1865 on East 47th Street, which later served as Epiphany's Heavenly Rest Chapel. The parish moved into and absorbed the Church of St. John the Baptist, built in 1856 at 257 Lexington Avenue. When Epiphany decided in 1937 that it was time to move again, Bishop William T. Manning insisted, contrary to the vestry's wishes, that it relocate near the East Side hospitals."
The chancel was designed by Eugene W. Mason.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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