Elmendorf Reformed Church


Elmendorf Reformed Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

(2013)
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Location	171 E. 121st St. Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates	40°48′5.5″N 73°56′18″W / 40.801528°N 73.93833°W / 40.801528; -73.93833
Built	1893-94^[2]
Architect	Joseph Ireland^[2]
Architectural style	Classical^[2]
NRHP reference No.	10000225^[1]
Added to NRHP	April 27, 2010

The Elmendorf Reformed Church, formerly known as the Elmendorf Chapel, is a historic Reformed Church in America (RCA) church located at 171 East 121st Street between Sylvan Court and Third Avenue in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was founded as a parish house and Sunday school^[3] for the First Collegiate Church of Harlem, which had its beginnings in 1660 as the Low Dutch Reformed Church of Harlem or Harlem Reformed Dutch Church, the first house of worship in Harlem. The Church's original burying ground for its African American congregants was discovered in 2008 at the 126th Street Depot of the MTA Regional Bus Operations when body parts were found upon digging at the location.^[4] The Metropolitan Transportation Authority agreed to move the Depot by 2015.^[5] Sanctuaries were built in 1665–67, 1686–87, 1825 and 1897, at various locations in the area. In 1893-94 a Neoclassical parish house was built on this site under the auspices of Rev. Joachim Elmendorf, designed by Joseph Ireland. Around 1910, the church at the time was torn down, and the parish house was rebuilt as the Elmendorf Chapel, which then became the Elmendorf Reformed Church. It is the oldest congregation in Harlem.^[2]^[6]

The church is a two-story plus basement building which is "L" shaped in plan and fills much of its 53 feet wide by 120 feet deep lot.^[7]

The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.^[1]

On September 22, 2002, Patricia A. Singletary became the first female minister of the Elmendorf Reformed Church.

The Elmendorf Reformed Church was organized in 1660 as the Harlem Reformed Low Dutch Church[5][6][7]

References

[edit]

Notes

^ ^a ^b "National Register of Historic Places Listings" (PDF). WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 4/26/10 THROUGH 4/30/10. National Park Service. May 7, 2010.
^ ^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.61
^ "Harlem's Old Dutch Church". The News York Times. January 28, 1894.
^ Muessig, Ben (March 15, 2010). "Harlem Bus Depot Built Atop African Burial Ground". Gothamist. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014
^ "Elmendorf Reformed Church". New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
^ White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City (5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19538-386-7. p.553
^ Howe, Kathleen A. (January 2010). National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York SP Elmendorf Reformed Church. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved November 13, 2025. (Downloading may be slow.)

External links

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Media related to Elmendorf Reformed Church at Wikimedia Commons
Elmendorf Reformed Church website

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See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan (Islands, Below 14th St., 14th–59th Sts., 59th–110th Sts., Above 110th St.) and List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City
Note: National Historic Landmarks are not listed separately.

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