112-114 Second Avenue | Block : 448 | Lot #5

Building Date : 1892
Original Use : Religious Institution

Original Owner : Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church
Original Architect : Samuel B. Reed

Description & Building Alterations

This three-to-five-story Gothic Revival-style church was built in 1892 by architect Samuel B. Reed for the Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church. The present-day Middle Collegiate Church is constructed entirely from Indiana limestone. Its facade is three bays wide, featuring a gabled three-story central bay, a 130-foot hexagonal limestone spire on the five-story tower of the northern bay, and another hexagonal limestone spire on the four-story southern bay. Other features include a peaked entry vestibule with a pointed-arched main entrance, pointed-arched window openings, and elaborate stained-glass windows which are possibly made by Tiffany. The highest tower has a bell cast in Amsterdam that was installed in the church’s previous Nassau Street location, where it rang when the Declaration of Independence was signed. It was installed at its present location in 1949, and rings at every presidential inauguration and death. It is located in the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District, designated in 2012.

On December 5, 2020, a fire broke out at the now-demolished building next door at 116 Second Avenue. The fire reached the Middle Collegiate Church, gutting the building and causing its roof to collapse.

Block : 448 / Lot : 005 / Building Date : 1892 / Original Owner : Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church / Original Use : Religious Institution / Original Architect : Samuel B. Reed

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