St. Luke's Lutheran Church

St. Luke's Lutheran Church, also known as The German Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of Saint Luke's and St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church, is a historic Lutheran church located on Restaurant Row at 308 West 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City.

St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church
(February 2011)
Location308 West 46th Street
Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates40°45′35″N 73°59′19.5″W
Built1922–23 (for church)[1][2]
1922 (for parish house)[3]
ArchitectEdward L. Tilton[1] of Tilton & Githens;[2]
Francis Xavier Zettler (for 1923 facade);[2]
"Keally" of 141 East 45th Street (for 1922 parish house)[3]
Architectural styleNeo-Perpendicular with Art Moderne detailing (Late Gothic Revival)
NRHP reference No.07000483[1]
Added to NRHPJune 1, 2007

History

St. Luke's was founded as a Dutch Reformed congregation in 1850, first meeting in rented rooms on the third floor of a building on 35th Street and 9th Avenue. It reorganized as a Lutheran congregation in 1853.[4]

The church moved several times, acquiring its first owned building, a former Baptist church on 43rd Street, in 1863. It moved in 1875 to 233 West 42nd Street, into the former Forty-second Street Presbyterian Church.[2] Finally, the congregation acquired property at West 46th Street to build its current church. The cornerstone was laid in October 1922 and the church dedicated in September 1923.[4]

For many years, Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia and teacher on the radio program, The Bible Study Hour (now known as Dr. Barnhouse & the Bible), held a Bible class on Monday evenings at the church, which lasted until his death in 1960.

An independent congregation without synodic affiliation since 1880, St. Luke's joined the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1987.

St. Luke's Theatre is located on the church's premises.

Architecture

The church was built in 1922–23 to the designs of Edward L. Tilton[1] of Tilton & Githens,[2] with the facade of the nave featuring windows designed by Francis Xavier Zettler.[2] The building was completed in 1923.[2] The architecture has been described as a happy marriage between the Gothic Revival and Art Deco styles.[2] A four-story parish house at 308–316 West 46th Street was built 1922 to designs by architect Francis Keally of 141 East 45th Street at the cost of $150,000.[3]

The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.[1]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.) p. 223.
  3. Office for Metropolitan History, "Manhattan NB Database 1900–1986," (Accessed 25 December 2010).
  4. "A Brief History of Saint Luke's Lutheran Church", StLukesNYC.org, retrieved February 16, 2010
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