Holy Name of Jesus
West 96th Street (and Amsterdam)
Heading west from Central Park on West 96th Street we leave the flourishing luxury of Central Park West and soon pass building after building the appearance of which indicates that this area wasn’t so nice at all in the not-too-distant past. As we proceed, we seem to be going back in time to these earlier, unlamented days of the West Side. It is upon reaching Amsterdam that we suddenly come upon the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus – prominently situated on a corner site and very traditionally Gothic in appearance, with its stone façade, large east window and single spire. It still dominates the anonymous or institutional structures of its immediate vicinity.
So it has done for many years, for Holy Name of Jesus is one of the oldest institutions of the Upper West Side. The new parish was established in 1873 in a district then called Bloomingdale, surrounded mainly by squatters tending their gardens. After the completion of the Dakota apartments on Central Park West the Upper West Side took off as the potential future residential and cultural center of the City. Holy Name of Jesus parish flourished as well – between 1890 and 1930 magnificent new parish buildings were erected. Stephen Joseph Donahue, a member of the first graduating class of Holy Name school in 1906, later became secretary to Cardinal Hayes, auxiliary bishop and rector of Holy Name parish – he was rumored to be a “home-town” favorite to replace Cardinal Hayes after the latter’s death (Spellman got the job).
After that, the decline was swift. By 1975 urban renewal, government social engineering, crime and drugs had reduced the neighborhood to a shambles. Most of the parish population had departed by this time. In 1990, the parish was entrusted to the Franciscans – never a sign of a parish’s health! Yet it was at his time that the dramatic economic upturn of the Upper West Side really began. And if vestiges of the past still exist in the immediate neighborhood of the parish, on the whole its situation – at least economically – is vastly improved from the grim days of the recent past. Yes, Holy Name of Jesus parish has seen it all!
This church’s Gothic exterior is somewhat austere and off-putting. But you soon notice that the church is just the center of a complex of buildings occupying a full block facing Amsterdam Avenue. The highlight on West 97th Street is a world-class parish center built in the 1920’s in an elaborate neo-Romanesque style reminiscent of St. John Nepomucene on the East Side. Then there is the impressive school building of 1904, with a former convent attached. A metal plaque commemorates the school’s 100th anniversary in 2005. Holy Name of Jesus School did not survive another ten years; it was closed in 2013. A ”De La Salle Academy” occupying several floors of the school also moved out to Holy Cross parish this year. Given the real estate values in the greater Upper West Side area I would expect that this fine school building is not long for this world. We may legitimately ask for a fuller explanation why a parochial school could not succeed in a part of the City particularly attractive to families. 1)
(Above and below) The former Holy Name of Jesus School
(Above and below)The parish house – now the “Franciscan Community Center.”
But the church interior reveals a new and entirely unexpected world. It is a cathedral-sized space – one of the grand parishes of the golden age of the Archdiocese. The decoration matches the elaborate architecture. Elaborate painting and traceries cover every inch of the walls. The Munich windows are of exceptional size, number and quality. The white marble altars and statues are among the best of their kind. Above all there is the great wooden hammer beam ceiling. Regrettably, the parish has recently installed blinding spotlights – of which it is very proud – all the better to see the Gothic details. Of course such lighting, like the similar installations under Cardinal O’Connor in St. Patrick’s, only proves that those who commissioned it had absolutely no idea what the Gothic style means.
(Above) A view towards the choir loft. (Below) A view of the south transept.
(Above and below) Details of the magnificent hammer beam roof.
One man who definitely did have a good idea of the Gothic was the architect of Holy Name, Thomas Henry Poole (1860-1919). A Catholic from England and also a writer – he contributed to the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia – Poole was involved in the creation of some of the most extraordinary churches of around 1900, like St. Cecilia in Greenpoint and, above all, his own parish church of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Yorkville. Holy Name of Jesus, built in stages between 1891 and 1900, shares with Our Lady of Good Counsel a fortress-like exterior contrasted with an extravagantly detailed interior employing all the decorative arts to create a Catholic Gesamtkunstwerk. 2) Holy Name of Jesus church is admittedly far more conventional than its earlier Yorkville sister in both architecture and decoration.
(Above) The grand window of the east facade.
(Above)Holy Name of Jesus appears to be unique in that not only is there a side altar dedicated to Our Lady, but the entire decorative program of the transept reflects that dedication.
(Above) The (original?) baptismal font now does double duty as a holy water font in front of a “baptismal pool” at the entrance to the nave.
What will be the fate of this magnificent cathedral on West 96th Street? You can discern from the photographs that the post-conciliar “reforms” left the beauty of this church relatively intact. Certain indicia of parish life dear to the Archdiocese – like the assessment fro the Cardinal’s appeal – would seem to indicate that this parish is continuing on the upward ascent. And the very informative parish website documents a wide range of activity. 3) On the other hand, the recent summary closing of the school is not a good sign at all. Who knows – a beautiful cathedral is a great asset with which to start evangelizing in the not very Catholic atmosphere of today’s Upper West Side.
1) http://www.holyname.com
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Henry_Poole
3) http://holynamenyc.org. For more on the history of the church, see http://www.holynamenyc.org/index.php/about_us/church_history
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