Church of the Ascension

By Tours of 1930s NYC

Church of the Ascension 1940s tax photograph of the Church of the Ascension. At the angle, you can see how big and long the church was. Source: New York City Municipal Archives Date: 1939-1941

"The Church of the Ascension (Protestant Episcopal) is on the northwest corner of Tenth Street. Built in 1841 in the English Gothic style after the design by Richard Upjon, it was redecorated about 1888 from the plans of Stanford White, the chancel being the work of well-known artists of the late nineteenth century. John La Farge's mural The Ascension (behind the altar), is considered his finest work. Here, on June 26th, 1844, President John Tyler was married to Julia Gardiner (NYC Guide, pp. 136)."

Although built in the 1840s, The Church of the Ascensions was established as a Protestant Episcopal in 1827. In 1839, the Church was burnt down by a nearby fire spreading which led to the building of the new and current Church of the Ascensions on Tenth Street. The church is symmetrical and made of brownstone (Wikipedia, 2024). It features a square tower in representation of the Gothic Revival architectural style, popular in the 1840s. It was known as a symbol of architectural innovation during its time (Gornail & Garcia, accessed July 27, 2024).

During the stock market crash of 1929, the church inquired a nickname "the Church of Open Doors," as from that time until 1971 remained open 24 hours a day for those in need. As the depression deepened into 1931, they interviewed and hired those in need of jobs, helped feed and find shelter for the homeless, and even allowed them to sleep in the Church on cold nights. In 1933, the church received a tower bell donated by Susan Cox, its first note was played that December (The Church of Ascension, accessed July 26, 2024).