Church of the Good Shepherd (New York City)

Coordinates: 40°52′6″N 73°55′13″W / 40.86833°N 73.92028°W / 40.86833; -73.92028
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40°52′6″N 73°55′13″W / 40.86833°N 73.92028°W / 40.86833; -73.92028

The Church of the Good Shepherd
(2010)
Map
General information
Town or cityInwood, Manhattan, New York City
CountryUnited States
Construction started1924 (for school)
1935 (for church)
1950 (for convent)
Completed1936 (for church)
Cost$250,000 (for 1924 school)
$300,000 (for 1950 convent)
ClientRoman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Design and construction
Architect(s)1936 church: Paul Monaghan
1924 school: Auguste L. Noel
1950 convent: Paul C. Reilly[1]
Website
Church of the Good Shepherd, Manhattan

The Church of the Good Shepherd, located at 4967 Broadway at the corner of Isham Street in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, is a Roman Catholic parish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. It was built in 1935-36 and was designed by Paul Monaghan in the Romanesque Revival style. The Celtic cross at the top of the church is an indication that the parish was originally largely Irish-American; today there are more Dominican-Americans than Irish.[2][3]

History[edit]

The parish was established in 1911 on land purchased by the Paulist Fathers from the Isham Estate.[4][5] It is currently staffed by the Capuchin Friars. At the time of its founding, Inwood was considered to be "the unofficial capital of the Irish diaspora", and the parish was largely made up of Irish-Americans.[2] The parish's first church was built c.1912, to designs by Thomas H. Poole & Company, on a site just down Isham Street from the current church, surrounded by wooded countryside.[2]

A two-story parochial school at 110-116 Cooper Street was built in 1924, to designs by Auguste L. Noel, at the cost of $250,000. A five-story brick convent was located at 620 Isham Street; it was built in 1950 and was designed by architect Paul C. Reilly. It cost $300,000 to construct.

Despite the change of the parish's ethnic make-up to be largely Dominican-Americans, there are still ties to the church and New York's Irish community. The church was deeply affected by the loss of many Irish-Americans in the September 11 attacks. As a memorial, a twisted cruciform piece of steel from the World Trade Center stands in the churchyard, with a sign saying "Ground Hero".[2]

References[edit]

Notes

  1. ^ Office for Metropolitan History, "Manhattan NB Database 1900-1986," (Accessed 25 Dec 2010).
  2. ^ a b c d Dunlap, David W. (2004). From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12543-7., p.86
  3. ^ New York City Geographic Information System map
  4. ^ "History of Inwood's Ishham Park" My Inwood
  5. ^ Lafort, Remigius. The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg Together with some Supplementary Articles on Religious Communities of Women. (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.328.

External links[edit]