Town or city New York, New York Architecture firm Schickel & Ditmars | Phone +1 212-288-6250 | |
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Country United States of America Construction started 1926 (for school and convent);1955 (for convent) Cost $120,000(for 1926 school and convent);
$275,000 (for 1955 convent) Address 413 E 79th St, New York, NY 10075, USA Architectural style Gothic Revival architecture Client Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York Similar St Stephen of Hungary Church, St Elizabeth of Hungar, St Pius V's Church, St Benedict the Moor, Church of St Catherine | ||
The Church of St. Monica, commonly referred to as St. Monica's, is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 413 East 79th Street, Manhattan, New York City. The parish was established in 1879.
Contents
History
The fourth Catholic parish on the Upper East Side, St. Monica's was founded by Fr. John Treanor, pastor of the Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole (now the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola). Fr. James J. Dougherty was appointed the first pastor, and in 1880 he began conducting Mass over a feed store at 404 East 78th Street. The following year, he purchased land for the construction of the church and school. Construction of the first church building was completed in 1883. In 1892, the address was listed as 409 E 79th Street.
The Rev. John J. Boyle served as acting rector at St. Monica's before becoming the founding pastor of St. Luke's Church (Bronx, New York).
Buildings
The current Gothic Revival church building was erected in 1906 to the designs of the esteemed Roman Catholic church-building architectural firm of Schickel & Ditmars.
The Rev. Arthur J. Kenny, rector, had a three- and four-story brick school and convent with tile roof at 410 East 80th Street, built in 1926 to designs of Thomas Dunn of 37 West 57th Street for $120,000 ($1,620,000 in current dollar terms). A three-story convent at 405–413 East 79th Street was built in 1955 to designs by Brown-Guenther-Booss of 1860 Broadway for $275,000 ($2,460,000 in current dollar terms).
Pastors
St. Monica's Parish School
The parish school opened in 1883, operated by the Sisters of Charity of New York. The Sisters of St. Francis assumed operations in 1944. After several years of declining enrollment, however, the school was closed in 1974.