Calvary Baptist Church (Manhattan) Explained

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Calvary Baptist Church is an Independent Baptist church, located at 123 West 57th Street between the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and Seventh Avenue, near Carnegie Hall in Midtown Manhattan, New York City., the church is at a temporary location while its building at 123 West 57th Street is being demolished and replaced.

History

The church was founded in 1847,[1] and its first sanctuary was at 50 West 23rd Street, completed in 1854. It then moved to a red sandstone Gothic church designed by John Rochester Thomas at its current location, which was built in 1883-1884. It also had a chapel at 223 West 67th Street, which was later used by St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church.[2]

In 1923, Calvary became one of the earliest churches to operate its own radio station and has since maintained a long tradition of widely followed religious broadcasts.[3] "Tell It From Calvary" is a radio show that the church still produces weekly; it is heard on WMCA.[4] [5]

The building at 123 West 57th Street was an early example of an urban high-rise, or "skyscraper", church, a 16-story building which also included the Hotel Salisbury, an apartment hotel. Planning for the edifice began in 1929, with the design credited to the firm of Jardine, Hall & Murdock, and the building was dedicated in 1931.[6] [7] [8] Two Steinway grand pianos were donated to the church by pianist Van Cliburn, who attended periodically while living in the hotel.

Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton have worshipped at Calvary. Billy Graham[9] and Billy Sunday[10] have preached there.

In early 2020, Calvary Baptist Church and the Salisbury Hotel closed. The Gothic Revival edifice was planned to be demolished to make way for a new office building with space for the church.[11] [12] [13] Following a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, Alchemy Properties acquired the church in July 2021,[14] and demolition began in 2022.[15] During the renovation, Calvary gathered every Sunday at 10 a.m. on the Manhattan campus of Hunter College, as well as online.

Senior pastors

Notes and References

  1. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1875/02/15/93906290.pdf "Calvary Baptist Church. A brief sketch of its rise and progress"
  2. , p.37
  3. Jaker, Bill; Sulek, Frank and Kanze, Peterr. The airwaves of New York: illustrated histories of 156 AM stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921-1996 Page 168. WQAO went on the air 1923. One of the earliest religious broadcasters in New York. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  4. Web site: Welcome to WMCA 570 AM & 102.3 FM - New York The Mission WMCA - New York, NY. https://web.archive.org/web/20200529232304/https://wmca.com/programguidedaily?dayOfWeek=Sunday&timeFilter=0. dead. May 29, 2020. May 29, 2020. May 29, 2020.
  5. Web site: Media Calvary Baptist Church, NYC. www.cbcnyc.org. May 29, 2020.
  6. Bergman, Edward F. The spiritual traveler: New York City: the guide to sacred spaces and ... HiddenSpring, 2001, pp194-105. Notes its history and that it is in a 16 story church/apartment building/hotel, owned by the church. Retrieved November 20, 2009
  7. Balmer, Randall Herbert and Silk, Mark. Religion and public life in the Middle Atlantic region: the fount of diversity. AltaMira Press, 2006. . Page 13. Briefly lists the modern Calvary Baptist structure as a "neogothic skyscraper" among important religious structures in the region. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  8. Watson, Edward B. and Gillon, Edmund Vincent. New York then and now: 83 Manhattan sites photographed in the past and present. Dover Publications; 1st Edition, 1976. .pp164-165. Pictures and brief history of Calvary 1883 and 1929 buildings. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  9. Web site: AN UPBEAT OLD-TIME PREACHER - New York Daily News. . https://web.archive.org/web/20200529223546/https://www.nydailynews.com/upbeat-old-time-preacher-article-1.801588. dead. May 29, 2020. May 29, 2020. May 29, 2020.
  10. News: BILLY SUNDAY BACK WITH OLD 'GINGER'; Calvary Church Packed as the Evangelist Opens 2 Weeks of 'Real Preaching.'. The New York Times . en. May 30, 2020.
  11. Web site: Billionaire's Row Is Getting A New Development: Records. November 26, 2019. Midtown-Hell's Kitchen, NY Patch. en. May 29, 2020.
  12. Web site: Demo Permits Filed for 123 West 57th Street in Midtown, Manhattan. Londono. Vanessa. November 9, 2019. New York YIMBY. en-US. May 29, 2020.
  13. Web site: 26-story office building planned on top of the Calvary Baptist Church next to One57 on Billionaires' Row. 6sqft. en-US. May 29, 2020.
  14. Web site: June 21, 2021. Calvary Baptist Church sells property on 57th Street. June 9, 2022. The Real Deal New York. en-US.
  15. Web site: Demolition Begins at 123-141 West 57th Street for 26-Story Office Tower in Midtown, Manhattan . New York YIMBY . March 1, 2022 . June 9, 2022.
  16. http://www.cbcnyc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_id=19 "History of Calvary Baptist"
  17. https://books.google.com/books?id=p8gRAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22A.+D.+Gillette%22+%22calvary+baptist%22&pg=PA53 "About the early history and the building of a new edifice"
  18. MacArthur, Robert Stuart. "The Expositor and current anecdotes", Cleveland, Ohio. Vol XI, no. 7, April 1910, page 372. MacArthur had been pastor of Calvary Baptist 40 years, during which time he received 5000 members. He was an author, with 22 published volumes of sermons and compiled widely used hymnals. 10 persons were at the church's founding in 1847. Gives fairly detailed church history up to that point. The mother church had 2300 members, and 3 daughter congregations had been founded. Retrieved November 20, 2009
  19. https://books.google.com/books?id=j6EYAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22calvary+baptist%22+manhattan&pg=PA113 "Rev Dr. R.S. MacArthur, founder, withdraws from membership because of sensationalism"
  20. https://books.google.com/books?id=meIpAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Joseph+W.+Kemp%22+%22calvary+baptist%22&pg=PA335 "The modern dance"
  21. Giordano, Ralph. "Satan in the dance hall: Rev. John Roach Straton, social dancing, and morality in 1920s New York City" The Scarecrow Press 2008, . Extensive discussion of Rev. Straton's campaign against immorality and dancing, his use of broadcasting starting in 1923, and his renown as a fundamentalist. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  22. Lingeman, Richard R. "Sinclair Lewis: rebel from Main Street" Borealis Books, 2005. . pp 267-268, 303: The American Mercury called Straton "the Fundamentalist Pope." Retrieved November 20, 2009
  23. https://web.archive.org/web/20101125015430/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,785850,00.html "Religion: Calvary Baptist."
  24. https://web.archive.org/web/20101121040518/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,881225,00.html "Religion: Blatant Staton"
  25. Carpenter, Joel A. Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism page 46: In the 1930s and 1940s, under Pastors Houghton and Ayers, Calvary was a "pocket denomination" with Moody Memorial in Chicago and Church of the Open Door in LA, with newspapers, radio programs, missionaries, and Bible conferences.Retrieved November 20, 2009
  26. News: DR. HOUGHTON QUITS CALVARY CHURCH; Pastor Ends Four-Year Service to Head the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. SUCCEEDED DR. STRATON 16-Story Salisbury Hotel Built Under His Administration -Brought Billy Sunday Here.. The New York Times . en. May 30, 2020.
  27. Balmer, Randall Herbert. Encyclopedia of evangelicalism Pp 39-40. "Ayer, William Ward (1892–1985)." Pastor of Calvary 1936, for 13 years. Church grew from 400 to 1600 members. "Morning Truth" broadcast widely heard. Fervent fundamentalist, but warned against being "too contentious." Anti-Communist, sometimes anti-Catholic. First president of "National Religious Broadcasters." Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  28. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aNUNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IXkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6309,861930&dq=manhattan+calvary-baptist&hl=en "Largo Has New Bible Church"
  29. https://web.archive.org/web/20081222105102/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,935859,00.html "Religion: twisting the devil's tail"
  30. News: CALVARY BAPTIST INSTALLS BRITON; Billy Graham Asks Church to Back Olford's Work in 'Dark and Pagan' City. The New York Times . en. May 29, 2020.
  31. Web site: Olford Ministries International . November 17, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070225231834/http://www.olford.org/ . February 25, 2007 . dead .
  32. News: January 20, 1973. Olford Resigns as Pastor Of Calvary Baptist Church. en-US. The New York Times. May 29, 2020. 0362-4331.
  33. Web site: https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=arbn_65-69. https://web.archive.org/web/20200529212717/https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=arbn_65-69. dead. May 29, 2020. May 29, 2020. May 29, 2020.
  34. Web site: Calvary Baptist Church, 2016-2017 Annual Report. Calvary Baptist Church. 6. 2017. May 29, 2020.
  35. Web site: Sermon Review: Calvary Baptist Church(New York City) Meghan Duke. First Things. February 2, 2010 . en. May 29, 2020.

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