OUR CHURCH
The Roman Catholic Church of the Epiphany of Our Lord was founded in 1868. Its first church was erected on the site of Rose Hill, the mansion of Horatio Gates, the Revolutionary War general who won the Battle of Saratoga, arguably the most important victory of the war. Epiphany's first building, designed in the Lombardic style by Napoleon Le Brun, was built in 1869-70 at a cost of $115,000. Built of Newark brown stone with facings of white Ohio stone, the edifice measured 75 feet wide at the front by 145 feet long and 77 feet high. Three entrances were at the front, parallel to Second Avenue, over which was extended a stone portico with marble pillars on either side. At the northern end of the facade was a tower and steeple rising to the height of 115 feet. Inside, the church provided seating for 1,700 and had galleries which extended from the front to within about twenty feet of the sanctuary rail, the intermediate space being open. Only a block north of the church was the busy 23rd Street station of the Second Avenue El, which curved noisily onto 23rd Street before continuing south down First Avenue. After the El was dismantled in wartime 1942, the church enjoyed a more peaceful surrounding for two decades, until December 20, 1963, when a five-alarm fire destroyed the 95-year-old building.
A new church was built from 1965-67 to designs by Belfatto & Pavarini of New York City. Termed "post-conciliar" by a former priest, the Modernist building is contemporary and incorporates reforms sanctioned by the Vatican II Council. The building is constructed of steel-gray brick, inside and out, and has gently curving walls. A tower with two walls of unequal height overlooks a plaza at the entrance. Inside, a plain, free-standing altar is surrounded on three sides by pews, allowing the priest to face the congregation. A white ceiling, slate floor and rectangular metal lighting fixtures contrast with the previous, more traditional building. Space for the choir and organ console are provided in the area to the left of the altar, as there are no galleries. The present church was dedicated by Cardinal Spellman on May 14, 1967.
The Epiphany Peace Garden in the plaza is a memorial to the parishioners, neighbors and local police and firefighters who died in the attacks on September 11, 2001.
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Epiphany’s Fire 1963
