Metropolitan Baptist Church (Formerly the New York Presbyterian Church)

History and architecture

Designed in two sections by different architects, the Metropolitan Baptist Church (originally the New York Presbyterian Church) is a fine example of the many new churches built in Harlem during the late 19th century at a time when the local church represented wealth and stability to the community. The building is distinguished by a somewhat unusual blend of the Gothic and Romanesque Revival styles, both favored in part for their imposing character, and reflects the importance of its original congregation.

The earlier section of rough-faced limestone church, fronting on West 128th Street, was planned by John Rochester Thomas in 1884. It housed a small lecture room/ chapel and was erected with the intention of adding a principal auditorium structure at a later date. The addition, comprising the Seventh Avenue facade and the northern section of the church, was completed in 1890 and designed by Richard R. Davis. Davis' extension, with its dominating gable and towers, complemented the Thomas design incorporating many details from the earlier structure.

Although the immediate neighborhood was not fully developed when the building was commissioned by the New York Presbyterian Church, greater Harlem was blossoming as New York's most fashionable suburb. Harlem derived its name from the village of New Harlem established in the region by Peter Stuyvesant in 1658, and embraced the area of Manhattan above Morningside Heights between the Hudson and Harlem. Rivers. The region remained rural until the turn of the century. Country estates in the western half of the district took advantage of magnificent views from Harlem Heights, while the eastern section, between present-day 110th and 125th Streets, was cultivated as farmlands. It was not until the 1830s, when the New York & Harlem Railroad ran trains to 129th Street, that Harlem's potential as a residential suburb was recognized.