Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church

40°43′53.17″N 74°0′0.07″W / 40.7314361°N 74.0000194°W / 40.7314361; -74.0000194

Church in New York, United States

Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Church

HistoryAssociated peoplePaul AbelsArchitectureFunctional statusConverted into apartmentsArchitect(s)Charles Hadden^[1]StyleRomanesque Revival^[1]^[2]Years built1859–1860^[1]Closed2004AdministrationDivisionNew York Conference

Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church was a United Methodist church which was located at 135 West Fourth Street in New York City's Greenwich Village for almost 150 years. It was built as a new and larger structure by the Sullivan Street Methodist church in 1860; a balcony added later was the first New York City example of one not supported by columns. The building was sold by its remaining small congregation in 2004, which could no longer support maintenance on the structure. This congregation briefly rented space in Trinity Chapel, New York University (1964), before joining with two other Methodist congregations to create the Church of the Village. Washington Square United Methodist Church was known as "The Peace Church" when under the leadership of Finley Schaef resulting from the congregation's opposition to the Vietnam War.^[3] Paul Abels, New York City's first openly gay clergyman, served as the church's pastor from 1973 to 1984 and promoted acceptance of the gay and lesbian community.^[4] The church could not be demolished as it was located in the Greenwich Village Historic District and was instead converted into Novare, a condominium apartment building.^[5]^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Washington Square United Methodist Church". The New York City Organ Project. New York: New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
^ Pereira, Ivan; Grella, Stephanie (March 2, 2015). "Can They Be Saved". AM New York. Schneps Media. p. 3.
^ Dunlap, David W. (2004). From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 291. ISBN 978-0-231-12543-7.
^ Lambert, Bruce (March 14, 1992). "The Rev. Paul Abels Dies at 54; Gay Pastor Lead 'Peace' Church". The New York Times. p. A12. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
^ Russiello, James (2008). A Sympathetic Planning Hierarchy for Redundant Churches: A Comparison of Continued Use and Reuse in Denmark, England and the United States of America (MSc thesis). Bath, England: University of Bath. pp. 351, 353.
^ Amateau, Albert (July 27, 2005). "Washington Square Church Is Sold". The Villager.

External links

Media related to Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church at Wikimedia Commons

Greenwich Village (including Meatpacking District, South Village, and West Village)

Manhattan, New York City

Buildings

Broadway–6th Avenue	74–96 MacDougal Street, 170–188 Sullivan Street Butterfield House Cable Building General Winfield Scott House Mills House No. 1 One Fifth Avenue University Village Washington Square Village Whitney Museum of American Art
West of 6th Avenue	2 Horatio Street 40 Tenth Avenue 45 Christopher Street 75½ Bedford Street 131 Charles Street 173 and 176 Perry Street 299 West 12th Street 302 West 12th Street Bell Laboratories Building Westbeth Artists Community Federal Office Building New York County National Bank Building Palazzo Chupi Salvation Army Headquarters St. John's Terminal Superior Ink West Village Houses
Former	Canterbury Hall Jefferson Market Prison

Culture

Shops, restaurants, and nightlife	Arthur's Tavern Barbuto The Bitter End Blue Hill Blue Note Jazz Club Café Bohemia Cafe Wha? Caffe Reggio Comedy Cellar Commerce Inn Cubbyhole Dante Don Angie Duplex Cabaret Theatre Frevo Gotham Bar and Grill I Sodi Jeju Noodle Bar Joe's Pizza John's of Bleecker Street Julius Kesté Kettle of Fish King Kosaka (Le) Poisson Rouge Les Trois Chevaux Lord's Marie's Crisis Minetta Tavern One If By Land, Two If By Sea Oscar Wilde Bookshop Perry Street Pommes Frites Red Paper Clip Semma Sevilla Smalls Jazz Club Stonewall Inn National LGBTQ Wall of Honor Sushi Nakazawa Via Carota Village Vanguard Wallsé White Horse Tavern
Museums and galleries	Center for Architecture Fort Gansevoort Maccarone Makeup Museum White Columns Whitney Museum
Hotels	Hotel Albert Hotel Gansevoort The Jane Marlton House The Standard, High Line
Theaters, studios	Barrow Street Theatre Cherry Lane Theatre Electric Lady Studios Film Forum IFC Center Lucille Lortel Theatre Minetta Lane Theatre New Ohio Theatre The Players Theatre Provincetown Playhouse Quad Cinema Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
Former	ANTA Washington Square Theatre Apostolic Recording Studio Avignone Chemists The Beatrice Inn Boomer's The Bottom Line Cafe Au Go Go Café Clover Café Society Caffe Vivaldi Carbone Cedar Tavern Chumley's The Cooler Cornelia Street Cafe Da Silvano El Faro Restaurant Eve's Hangout Film Guild Cinema Florent Garrick Cinema The Gaslight Cafe Gerde's Folk City Grand Central Hotel Greenspon Gallery Greenwich Village Theatre Hot Feet Club Hotel Lafayette KGB Espionage Museum Lion's Den Mineshaft Mori Nell's Nick's Nix Old Grapevine Pfaff's Piora Plane Space The Plumm Ramrod Rocco Restaurant San Remo Cafe Seventh Avenue South Sheridan Square Playhouse Soto The Spotted Pig Sweet Basil Jazz Club Tenjune Trude Heller's The Village Den Village Gate ZZ's Clam Bar

Parks, green spaces, and plazas

Current

Abingdon Square Park
Christopher Street Pier
Christopher Park
- Gay Liberation Monument
- Statue of Philip Sheridan
Father Demo Square
High Line
Hudson River Park
Jackson Square Park
James J. Walker Park
Little Island at Pier 55
McCarthy Square
Mulry Square
New York City AIDS Memorial
Pier 40
Washington Square Park
- Bust of Alexander Lyman Holley
- Statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi
- Washington Square Arch
West Fourth Street Courts
Winston Churchill Square

Former

Coles Sports and Recreation Center

Education

Libraries and schools	City-As-School High School Jefferson Market Library Notre Dame School PS 41 St. Luke's School Village Community School
Postsecondary	The New School for Social Research Fogelman Social Sciences and Humanities Library University Center New York University Brown Building Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò Elmer Holmes Bobst Library Fales Library Gould Plaza La Maison Française Silver Center Skirball Center for the Performing Arts University Village New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture Pratt Institute School of Information
Other	Greenwich House Greenwich House Music School Greenwich House Pottery HB Studio School for Poetic Computation
Former	École libre des hautes études Grammar School No. 35 New York Workers School

Religion
Church of St. Joseph in Greenwich Village Church of St. Luke in the Fields First Presbyterian Church Judson Memorial Church Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard Church Our Lady of Pompeii Church St. Veronica Church Trinity Chapel Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church

Transportation

Subway stations	14th Street/Sixth Avenue 14th Street/Eighth Avenue Broadway–Lafayette Street/Bleecker Street Christopher Street–Sheridan Square Eighth Street–New York University Houston Street West Fourth Street–Washington Square
PATH stations	Christopher Street Ninth Street 14th Street
Streets	4th Street 5th Avenue 6th Avenue 7th Avenue 8th Avenue 8th Street 14th Street Bank Street Bleecker Street Christopher Street Gay Street Greenwich Avenue Greenwich Street Houston Street Hudson Street Jones Street LaGuardia Place MacDougal Street Patchin Place Thompson Street University Place Washington Mews Washington Street Waverly Place Weehawken Street West Street