We had previously seen a photo taken in 1948 of some serious looking domes on East 97th Street and it had us walking just east of Central Park and Fifth Avenue this past weekend to see if they were still there. It turns out that the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral at 15 east 97th is definitely around these days and apparently is the center for the group in the United States. An old New York Times article confirms that the church was built on this southern stretch of East Harlem in 1902 because the land was cheap and that the Russian immigrant community was originally based on lower Second Avenue:
LINK. Check out our past post for a more modest dome church that still stands in Hamilton Heights these days:
LINK.
You know there used to be a Russian Church (not as ornately appointed) on West 153rd St. b/t Amsterdam & B'way. When I was a student at St. Catherine of Genoa School, that Russian Church as our boundary during fire drills.
ReplyDeleteAdded the link to our story on the Russian Holy Fathers Church at 153rd Street to the above post.
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