Chapel of the Intercession Complex | |
.jpg) Looking southeast in 2013 | |
 | |
| Location | 550 West 155th Street Manhattan,New York City |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°49′56″N73°56′42″W / 40.83222°N 73.94500°W /40.83222; -73.94500 |
| Built | 1912–1915[2] |
| Architect | Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue[3] |
| Architectural style | church:Late English Gothic Revival, and others[3] vicarage:Tudor Revival[4] |
| NRHP reference No. | 80002677[1] |
| NYCL No. | 0306 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 24, 1980 |
| Designated NYCL | August 16, 1966 |
TheChurch of the Intercession is anEpiscopal congregation located at 550West 155th Street, atBroadway, on the border of theHarlem andWashington Heights neighborhoods ofManhattan,New York City, on the grounds ofTrinity Church Cemetery. The congregation was founded in 1846, and the current sanctuary, built in 1912–1915, was designed byBertram Grosvenor Goodhue in theGothic Revival style. From 1906–1976, it was a chapel ofTrinity Church.[2]
The Church of the Intercession and itsTudor Revival vicarage were designatedNew York City Landmarks in 1966,[3][4] and the complex was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1980.[5]
The congregation which became the Church of the Intercession was founded in 1846 in Carmansville, a hamlet which would later be known asAudubon Park before becoming part of the Washington Heights neighborhood,[6] byJohn James Audubon and John R. Morewood; it was incorporated in 1847.[2] Services were initially held in Morewood's home, with members who came from both Trinity Church on Broadway andWall Street, and from theChurch of the Ascension atFifth Avenue and10th Street.
In 1847, the congregation completed building their first sanctuary, aVictorian Gothic style wooden structure atWest 154th Street andTenth Avenue (now Amsterdam Avenue). The building's outline can still be seen on what was the adjoining building. In 1871, thevestry decided to move the parish and sell the building.[2]
The congregation's next church was a stone building designed by Rembrandt Lockwood[7] and located at158th Street and Grand Boulevard, which is now Broadway.[8] However, dissension within the congregation suppressed financial support for the parish, which became insolvent; the church was attached by the sheriff, and services proceeded only on the sufferance of the authorities.[2]
Eventually, the congregation was able to recover the church, but by 1906 it was overcrowded, and the parish was still in debt. To alleviate these problems, a deal was struck with Trinity Church, which had intended to build a chapel on the grounds of its cemetery, to disestablish the Church of the Intercession as an independent parish, to become a Trinity Chapel, the Chapel of the Intercession.[9] The cornerstone of a new sanctuary was laid in 1912, and the building was consecrated in 1915. The architect,Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue ofCram, Goodhue & Ferguson,[10] was a master of the Gothic Revival style, and the resulting church is considered to be his masterpiece.[2] Goodhue incorporated elements from other styles into the building, such as the narrow and tall entrances which evoke theEnglish Perpendicular style, while theDecorated Period can be seen in the tracery of the pointed windows, and the tower suggests theTudor style.[3] The church was built by Edward A. Wehr of Pittsburgh, who considered this his finest piece of work.[11]
The congregation again became an independent parish[10] in 1976.[7]
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