St. James Church
National Register of Historic Places

St. James Church

Elmhurst, Queens County, New York
Listed
November 12, 1999
Type
Building
Period
Colonial
Ref No.
99001331

About this property

St. James Church (also known as Church of England in America, Mission Church at Newtown, St. James Protestant Episcopal Church, Parish Hall, and Community Hall) is a historic Episcopal church building at 86-02 Broadway in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens in New York City. It is the city's oldest surviving Anglican building and Church of England mission church. It is also alternatively called the Old St. James Church to distinguish it from the St. James Episcopal Church two blocks away. Ever since Elmhurst was established in 1652 as the town of Middleburgh (later Newtown), it had been religiously diverse, although the Church of England became the Province of New York's official religion in 1693. The Mission Church at Newtowne was founded in 1704 as a mission of a parish based in Jamaica, Queens. The parish built its Newtown structure in 1735–1736 and became separate in 1761. The congregation used the building until a new church was built nearby in 1848, whereupon the old structure became a parish building. The church was extensively repaired and expanded several times in the 18th and 19th centuries, including a major expansion in 1883. The old church building was used as a parish hall and Sunday school until 1941 when a new parish hall was built behind the newer St. James Episcopal Church. Since then, it has been used by several community groups, and was restored in 2004. St. James Church is designed in the English Colonial style and consists of the original main section and a rear section built in 1883. The interior features extensive carving and other decorative woodwork features. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the church as a city landmark in 2017.

Location

86-02 Broadway
Elmhurst, Queens County, New York
40.73849, -73.87750

Categories

ARCHITECTURERELIGION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

First Presbyterian Church of Newtown
Colonial
0.1 mi
Reformed Church of Newtown Complex
Industrial
0.1 mi
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge Number 878
Industrial
0.2 mi
Elmhurst Avenue Subway Station (IND)
Industrial
0.4 mi
US Post Office-Jackson Heights Station
Industrial
0.9 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Kip's Bay
1776Revolutionary War
4.9 mi
Battle of Long Island — Flanking at Jamaica Pass
1776Revolutionary War
5.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was St. James Church listed on the National Register?

St. James Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1999.

What type of historic resource is St. James Church?

St. James Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for St. James Church?

The period of significance for St. James Church is recorded as the colonial era.

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