Building of the Day: 113 Remsen Street
Brooklyn, one building at a time. Name: Our Lady of Lebanon RC Church, originally Church of the Pilgrims Address: 113 Remsen Street, corner of Henry St. Neighborhood: Brooklyn Heights Year Built: 1844-46, addition 1869 Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival Architect: Richard Upjohn, east addition: Leopold Eidlitz Other buildings by architect: (Upjohn) Brooklyn- Grace Episcopal Church, Manhattan-Trinity…
Brooklyn, one building at a time.
Name: Our Lady of Lebanon RC Church, originally Church of the Pilgrims
Address: 113 Remsen Street, corner of Henry St.
Neighborhood: Brooklyn Heights
Year Built: 1844-46, addition 1869
Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: Richard Upjohn, east addition: Leopold Eidlitz
Other buildings by architect: (Upjohn) Brooklyn- Grace Episcopal Church, Manhattan-Trinity Church
Landmarked: Yes, part of Brooklyn Heights HD (1966)
The story: Architectural historians call the Church of the Pilgrims (now Our Lady of Lebanon) the first Romanesque Revival church in the country, a strong and solid mass of rough cut stone. Unlike Grace and Trinity Churches, his other masterpieces, here Upjohn was building for Congregationalists, those austere New Englanders who held the very Catholic High Church styling’s of Gothic architecture in quite low regard. This church has such a strong presence, yet it often is not mentioned in the list of great Brooklyn Heights’ houses of worship. That may be because it really is a “Mighty Fortress”. Upjohn knew his clients well.
Brooklyn Heights had quite a large Congregationalist following, enough to have both Church of the Pilgrims and Plymouth Church in the same community, but by 1934, reduced congregations in both churches caused them to merge, creating the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, housed in historic Plymouth Church on Orange Street. The congregation took the Tiffany stained glass windows with them, placing them in Hillis Hall, behind the main church.
The building was sold, and became Our Lady of Lebanon, Maronite Rite Catholic Church. In 1945, they purchased the bronze doors from the dining room of the French ocean liner, the Normandie, which had sunk and burned in NY harbor in 1942. These bronze doors were installed in the entrance of the church, the new congregation’s addition to a fine church. Purists may not have liked the addition to Upjohn’s design, but many more people like the church’s subtle pun in putting the doors from the Normandie on a very Norman looking castle. The doors are as fascinating as the church itself, and a fine addition. GMAP
The church s beautiful, to be sure. Now if its parishioners would just stop using the Henry Street bike lane and sidewalk as their private parking lot.
They not only block the lane, endangering cyclists, but by parking half-way on the sidewalk, they cause the bluestone to crack. Which the owners then have to pay to repair.
http://bit.ly/mR9tXS
It is also important to point out that they are the Maronite Sect of the Catholic Church. Their services are in Aramaic or partially so. They also have a great cookout once a year to raise funds. Delicious.
The bronze doors are magnificent and illustrate the great cathedrals of France -how appropriate. Also notice the stoop handrails with stylized “N” uprights, also from the ill-fated Normandy luxury liner. The Met bought a lot of other fittings from the ship.
I love this building on many levels. I can just imagine how upset the original anti-immigrant, anti-catholic minister (the famous Rev Storrs) would have been had he known that his fortress of stoicism would some day be bought by Catholic immigrants from Lebanon of all places, who would bring in crystal chandeliers, buckets of flowers and ornate bronze doors from France!!! What next? Very ironic.
He would not have been at all pleased but I love it and congratulate the congregation on maintaining the church building so well and traveling in from all over to attend services and to help support it. It is their cathedral and one can sense the love they have for it.
This is one of the fantastic houses of worship of Brooklyn. No doubt about it.