METROPOLITAN CHAPTER OF

THE VICTORIAN SOCIETY IN AMERICA

March 18, 2008
Testimony of the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America
Regarding the Designation of
St. Michael's Church, Parish House, and Rectory
201-227 W. 99th Street
Good morning, Commissioners. I am Hilda Regier, first vice president of the
Metropolitan Chapter ofthe Victorian Society in America. I am pleased to testify today
in support of the designation ofthe S1. Michael's Church, Parish House, and Rectory.
Founded in New York City in 1966, the Victorian Society in America is dedicated to
fostering the appreciation and preservation of our nineteenth-century heritage as well as
that of the early twentieth century (1837-1917). The Metropolitan Chapter, oldest of
numerous chapters now flourishing throughout the country, is an h'1dependent
organization affiliated with the national society.
Designed by Robert Gibson in 1890-91, St. Michael's Church is one of New York City's
finest Victorian churches. The church's exquisitely executed Romanesque Revival style
was called "a radical departure from the Gothic architecture of the majority of the city's
sacred edifices" by the New York Times at the time of its construction. Its rockface
limestone blocks are mirrored in the church's accessory buildings, including the parish
house, designed by F. Charles Merry in 1896-97, and the rectory, designed by Gibson in
1912-13. At 160-feet tall, S1. Michael's tower has long served as a focal point in this
section ofthe Upper West Side. Although never completed, the interior ofthe church
features wonderful windows and mosaics by Louis Comfort Tiffany's company.
Nearly thirty years after the LPC first considered it for designation, the time has come for
the special architectural character ofthe St. Michael's Church complex to be officially
recognized and protected by the Landmarks Law. The Metropolitan Chapter urges the
Commission to vote to designate St. Michael's without delay.
Thank you for your attention.

LANDMARK
THE COMMITTEE

EST!

TO PRESERVETHE UPPERWEST SIDE

Landmarks Preservation Commission Public Hearing

On Proposed Designation of
St. Michael's Church, Parish House and Rectory
201-255 West 99th Street
(aka 800-812 Amsterdam Avenue and 227 West 99th Street)
March 18, 2008

It gives us great pleasure to be here today to testifY emphatically in favor of officially

designating St. Michael's Church, Parish House and Rectory as a Landmark, at long last.
Twenty-eight years have passed since St. Michael's was first heard for potential
landmark designation (in 1980). LANDMARK WEST! included St. Michael's on its
Wish List of priority designations nearly 25 years ago-a long time, too long, for any
building to hang in limbo, its value and significance known but its future unsecured.
And yet there is tremendous urgency to protect this building now.
First of all, 8t. Michael's is without question one of New York's most remarkable
architectural ensembles. This gleaming-white limestone church, with its commanding
comer tower, red terra-cotta tile roof and Romanesque-arched windows by Louis
Comfort Tiffany, together with its adjacent parish house and rectory, is already a
"landmark" on the Amsterdam Avenue skyline. And the architect of St. Michael's,
Robert W. Gibson, is justly celebrated for other landmarks he designed, including West
End Collegiate Church and School (West End Avenue at 77th Street).
Without diminishing the special significance of St. Michael's, one can also compare it to
West-Park Presbyterian Church at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue and, a few blocks
further south, Holy Trinity Church at 82nd Street near Amsterdam and First Baptist
Church at 79th Street and Broadway (each was left out of the Upper West Side/Central
Park West Historic District when it was designated in 1990 in response to owner
objections). Or, even farther afield, St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Harlem. All are
beacons in their communities, anchoring prominent sites and establishing a sense of
place, time and scale for the surrounding neighborhood. All physically embody the
dreams and aspirations of their founders, who often made personal sacrifices in order to
create a public monument to faith, beauty and community. Each offers a unique window
into the history of our city and the cultural memory of its people.
The caretakers of 8t. Michael's have kept vigilant watch over this beacon and lovingly
preserved it. Landmark designation is an important validation of their labors and a crucial
tool for safeguarding their investment for generations to come.

Their investment and ours. After all, the public assumes an extra tax burden so that
religious institutions may freely pursue their good works. When a congregation
maintains and preserves its building, it honors its social contract with the community.
And because landmark designation is a key mechanism for making sure that promises of
preservation and sensitive improvement are actually kept, the Landmarks Preservation
Commission has a special responsibility to identify and protect historic houses of
worship.
Unfortunately, the Commission has too often assumed a "hands off' approach, leaving
these sites vulnerable to insensitive development that not only destroys the structure
itself, but diminishes community character and, frequently, weakens the congregation.
All of the sites previously mentioned-plus
many, many others in all five boroughs-are
in immediate jeopardy as a direct result of the Commission's failure to live up to its
mandate and indeed its proven potential as an agent for revitalization.
a compelling list of success stories, landmark designation is part of the formula for
sustaining the vitality of religious sites-Eldridge Street Synagogue on the Lower East
Side, St. Bartholomew's on Park Avenue, the First and Second Churches of Christ
Scientist on Central Park West. In how many cases does the replacement of a religious
institution with a residential high-rise or office building ensure a congregation's survival
or otherwise contribute to the cultural life of a community? Name one example.
In

We urge the Commission to designate St. Michael's Church, Parish House and Rectory,
thus releasing it from 28 years oflandmarks purgatory. We also urge the Commission to
step up to its important role in ending the tear-down trend that robs neighborhoods of our
historic houses of worship.

PAGE AYRES COWLEY ARCHITECTS, LLC

636 Broadway,

New York, New York 10012 T. 212.673.6910

F. 2/2.673.6869

18 March 2008

Commissioner
Chair

Robert Tierney

New York City Landmarks

1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007

Preservation

Commission

Re: Letter in support for the designation

Dear Commissioner

of St. Michael's

Church

Tierney,

No important decision is made quickly, and while St. Michael's may have taken the long road to
designation, this day comes at just the right time to demonstrate the positive motives for historic preservation.
There needs to be a distinction between the museum preservation of buildings "frozen in time" and
enlightened conservation that encourages a forward looking activity, namely stewardship. This designation
represents many of the good reasons why churches, along with other building types, should be preserved:
Churches are useful resources capable of serving a modern purpose.
A good building can last a long time and with extended maintenance, almost indefinitely.
They are associated with rituals of religion and power (temples, churches and memorials) express
pride and cultural achievement.
They are celebratory, essentially works of art and the product of a distinctive and creative minds,
with exemplary stone carving, stained glass, etc.
They remind us of associations - the birth, marriages and deaths of neighbors.
Buildings are aesthetically pleasing and picturesque and add to the character and sense of place to
a neighborhood.
St. Michael's pastoral staff, their congregation
preserve this important church are to be congratulated.

and all of the professionals

who have worked hard to

"Whatever good in its kinde ought to be preservv'd in respect for antiquity, as well as our
present advantage ... "
Nicholas Hawksmoor, 17 February 1715
"Preservation presents an unparalleled opportunity to correct some sense of alienation which
is so characteristic of modern society. It affords the opportunity for citizens to regain a sense
of identity with their own origins of which they have been robbed by the sheer process of
urbanization."
James Marston Fitch, 1990
I hope that this designation can serve as an example of why preservation
important in a time of great change and development in this city.
Sincerely yours,

Page Ayres Cowley, F AlA, RIBA

of religious buildings is so

WOMEN'S
CITY
CLUB
of

New

Yorl~

March 14, 2008

SHAPING PUBLIC POLICY

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Prcsident
I.(nd, 13. Aclwr

Hon. Robert Tierney, Chair

NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
One Centre Street, 9th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10007

Vice Prcsiclents
8haron Yalzata
Barbara Zuclwr

1J~easurer
Joan Fahio

Secretaries
Joan GarIonl
l"Iarisil 11agau

Dear Chairman Tierney:

The Women's City Club of New York urges the Landmarks Commission to
designate St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Parish House and Rectory as a
New York City Landmark. As you know, the Women's City Club of New
York; founded in 1915, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that
shapes public policy through education, advocacy and citizen participation.

Co-Counsel
Eleanor J acIz5011Picl, J~5q.
Helen D. Reavis, Esq.

Honorar)' Dh'cctors
811sil11Alt

After a twenty-eight year wait, the unique qualities of this group of related
buildings in Romanesque Revival style deserves the recognition and
protection that designation will provide.

GolJic R. DUlnpson
Aclele B. Filcnc
Erlytl,e \\~ First
Margaret B. Howanl
Nora La:voti
Bland", J~. Lawton
Eliza],etl,

Lul,clbn Lipton
Phyllis L115sJzi11
Ethel S. Paler

Directors
IIelell Al'Ollstein
A11nette ChooHaian
Jane Creel
EIS"ic Dialnollll
Nancy E Francis
JOilll Freilid,
Doris I-lirsdl

Indeed, we hope that the designation of St Michael's will begin a series of

designations of the numerous historic houses of worship whose
architectural and cultural significance to communities throughout the city
make them worthy of that recognition. The rapid pace of development is
changing the landscape of all the boroughs. We cannot afford to wait any
longer to offer protection to these remarkable buildings, the like of which
will never be built again.
Please act now.
Sincerely,

l\1<lrjorie lyes
Jacoll:::on
Virg'inla \\'( Kassel
JO<1.11

Jessicil IZ-irlz
Citrol A. I~cillla'::;
Lama Luclwi,;
A.ll:nC~SOl)lllc

:0

lari:

Nal")' C. lIItu1,hree
Elaine p. Ostcrmo11
Dav Piercy
Gerolcline E.' Rhoacl~
Barhara T. Roclulw.n
Annette Y Rosen
Har)' Ellen Ruclolpl,
Harjorie Kcllchcr Sheil
Elconor 8 tier
l:Yn~~laria ~r.,u5ig
Raclwlle C. 1e5Siel'
Hod

R. "Wellcmcycr
Blaihie F. "\\701th
Bernice Zinuury'

1)'Il

Executive Director
Paulette Gcanacopoulos,

L1...
18'\7

lctu(Q.t LVd'-V\'j
Laura Ludwig

Annette Rosen
Co-Chairs, WCC Arts & Landmarks Committee

Cc:

Hon. Melissa Mark-Viverito, Member of the New York City Council

Kate Wood, Landmark West!