National Register of Historic Places

St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church

Yonkers, Westchester County, New York
Listed
July 28, 1982
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
82003418

About this property

St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church, commonly known as St. John's Church, Getty Square, is a historic Episcopal church located at 1 Hudson Street in the Getty Square neighborhood of Yonkers, Westchester County, New York. The complex includes the main church, in addition to a chapel, rectory, and school. The original church was constructed in 1752 by Frederick Philipse III, the third lord of Philipsburg Manor, a short distance from the family Manor Hall. It was built of locally quarried rough gray fieldstone, accented with red-brick quoins. In 1791, the roof, interior woodwork, and steeple of the church were destroyed by a fire. The building was renovated the next year and consecrated as St John’s Church, Philipsburgh; this was the first time the name was used. As Yonkers was growing and becoming an industrial city, an extension was added to the building in 1849. Still, a much larger church building was needed for the growing congregation. The church was significantly rebuilt and enlarged in 1874 by architect Edward Tuckerman Potter. At the insistence of the church vestry, he incorporated into the new design elements of the old one: one wall of the old church was preserved and built into the new church. Its round-arched windows and doorway became models for those in the new building. This combination of different styles created a striking, very individual design. The building has a cruciform layout and a slate-covered gable roof. The front facade features a half-round rose window, two quarter-round rose windows, and four battered buttresses. The basic form of the church, with its tall nave and high-pitched roof, is typical of the Gothic Revival style, but its round-arched windows and doorways, "inherited" from the original church, use Georgian architectural elements, with a decidedly Dutch colonial influence. The chapel, as well as the adjacent 2+1⁄2-story rectory, were constructed in 1890–1891 and are connected to the church by a series of additional rooms and covered walkways, all added by architect R. H. Robertson. During the American Revolutionary War, the church served as a field hospital for both sides. An exterior plaque honors "all American Revolution soldiers buried in Saint John's Church Cemetery" (the church cemetery is adjacent to Oakland Cemetery, located at Saw Mill River Road and Axminster Street). Inside the church, there is a memorial plaque for Reverend Luke Babcock, the rector from 1770 to 1777 who was a Loyalist arrested by Patriots. The church was added to the New York State Register of Historic Places in June 1982, with the entire church complex added to the National Register the following month.

Location

Yonkers, Westchester County, New York
40.93363, -73.89860

Categories

EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENTARCHITECTURE
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

Proctor's Theater
Industrial
0 mi
Philipsburgh Building
Civil War
0.1 mi
Philipse Manor Hall
Industrial
0.2 mi
US Post Office-Yonkers
Industrial
0.2 mi
Bell Place-Locust Avenue Historic District
Listed
0.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Fort Independence (Bronx)
1777Revolutionary War
3 mi
Skirmish at Fort Independence (Kingsbridge)
1777Revolutionary War
3.2 mi
Battle of Pelham (Pell's Point)
1776Revolutionary War
5.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church listed on the National Register?

St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 28, 1982.

What type of historic resource is St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church?

St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church?

The period of significance for St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church is recorded as the industrial era.

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