History and architecture
The bell-tower of Holy Trinity Church is without question one of the most beautiful in New York City. Dominating the remarkable group of buildings of which it is a part, the tower is an outstanding example of the French Gothic spirit adapted to a late Nineteenth Century brick and terra-cotta religious structure.
Holy Trinity Church and Parish House (St. Christopher House) together with the Parsonage occupy a plot on the south side of East 88th Street having 175 feet street frontage and 100 feet in depth. Due to the restricted area and unusual shape of the plot, the architects' ingenuity was taxed to the utmost to find a satisfactory arrangement for the three units, allowing full individuality to each, while relating them functionally to the whole ensemble.
St. Christopher House, the first unit of this complex to be built, containing a gymnasium, club rooms and auditorium, looked like a French Renaissance Chateau of the Loire Valley, but it complemented the French Gothic Church extremely well.
Three large arches grace a recessed ground floor porch which is repeated on the second floor, while steep roofs intercepted by pinnacled dormers grow out of the remodelled face of the building at third floor height. All sculptural and decorative features on this group of buildings are of terra-cotta, while the Roman brick is of a mottled golden brown, and was made especially for this project.
The present complex was built in 1897, a gift of Miss Serena Rhinelander as a memorial to her grandfather and her father, William C. Rhinelander. Designed by architects Barney & Chapman, who had just completed a similar church group for Grace Church on East 14th Street, the many ideas initiated there were carried to full fruition in Holy Trinity. The buildings occupy a portion of the old Rhinelander Farm, purchased in 1798 by the first William Rhinelander.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.