Church of the Intercession

History and architecture

Here in this modern version of Gothic architecture is a remarkable complex of buildings forming a truly picturesque group which houses the many functions of today's church activities.

The architect, Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, used architectural elements from different periods rather freely combined with a homogeneity which is remarkable. The feeling is generally that of the English Perpendicular style, particularly at the high narrow entrance end. The pointed windows at the sides, however, with their flamboyant tracery, seem to belong to the earlier Decorated Period while the tower, with its square headed belfry, louvers and open-work crenellations, suggests the Tudor antecedents which arc so well expressed in the small parish buildings at the rear. A small turret rises up at the southeast corner of the tower and is crowned by a small spire.

The long, narrow nave is beautifully expressed on the exterior. This simple, straightforward solution to the problem belies the belief that the Gothic style, as executed today, need necessarily lack the Gothic Spirit. This spirit is the essential quality sought by so many of our architects today and yet found by so few.

The Chapel of the Intercession was formerly the Church of the Intercession, founded in 1847. The present edifice was completed in 1914i. The altar contains 1,563 stones from all over the world. The surrounding cemetery holds the remains of many New Yorkers, some of the most famous being Clement Clarke Moore, author of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," John James Audubon, the first John Jacob Astor and many of his family. Alfred Tennyson Dickens, son of Charles Dickens, is also interred there.