From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship

by David Dunlap

Overview

From modest chapels to majestic cathedrals, and historic synagogues to modern mosques and Buddhist temples: this photo-filled, pocket-size guidebook presents 1,079 houses of worship in Manhattan and lays to rest the common perception that skyscrapers, bridges, and parks are the only defining moments in the architectural history of New York City. With his exhaustive research of the city's religious buildings, David W. Dunlap has revealed (and at times unearthed) an urban history that reinforces New York as a truly vibrant center of community and cultural diversity.

Published in conjunction with a New-York Historical Society exhibition, From Abyssinian to Zion is a sometimes quirky, always intriguing journey of discovery for tourists as well as native New Yorkers. Which popular pizzeria occupies the site of the cradle of the Christian and Missionary Alliance movement, the Gospel Tabernacle? And where can you find the only house of worship in Manhattan built during the reign of Caesar Augustus? Arranged alphabetically, this handy guide chronicles both extant and historical structures and includes

• 650 original photographs and 250 photographs from rarely seen archives

• 24 detailed neighborhood maps, pinpointing the location of each building

• concise listings, with histories of the congregations, descriptions of architecture, and accounts of prominent priests, ministers, rabbis, imams, and leading personalities in many of the congregations

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231125420
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	05/12/2004
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.62(w) x 8.64(h) x 1.15(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David W. Dunlap covers architecture and design, real-estate development, landmarks, and urban history for the New York Times. He is the author and photographer of On Broadway: A Journey Uptown Over Time, which won a Citation of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects. He is also the co-author and phtogrpaher of Glory in Gotham: Manhattan's Houses of Worship and the photographer of The City Observed: New York.

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Paul Goldberger
Preface
Acknowledgments
Neighborhood Maps
Introduction
A-Z
Bibliography
Credits and Permissions
Index

What People are Saying About This

Kenneth T. Jackson

Throughout much of its history, New York has been regarded as a kind of modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah, a place where sin and wickedness and danger are everywhere in abundance. But there is another side to the story as well, a tale of faith and devotion, of great preachers and respected theologians, and of grand and impressive religious edifices. David W. Dunlap's From Abyssinian to Zion combines beautiful illustrations with evocative prose to provide the best account yet of God in Gotham.

Editorial Reviews

well-researched and profusely illustrated

Black and White Magazine

With 899 photographs and 24 maps, this encyclopedia of congregations and religious buildings in Manhattan is an indispensable resource for anyone who is interested in religion and architecture in the city. Published in collaboration with the New-York Historical Society, the book is not organized by neighborhood or denomination, but alphabetically. Most entries are a single paragraph long and focus on architectural features: Holy Fathers Russian Orthodox Church is a "Faberg Easter egg of an architectural treat," while the Salvation Army headquarters on West 14th Street resembles "a medieval citadel" and the design of the Park East Synagogue is "almost hallucinatory" in its grandiosity. Several New York landmarks warrant page-long historical entries, including Saint Patrick's Cathedral ("the image of the Roman Catholic Church in America"), Riverside Church, Shearith Israel, Abyssinian Baptist, Brick Presbyterian, Grace Church and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Throughout, the book is filled with fascinating lore; the New York Buddhist Church on Riverside Drive, for example, contains a 15-foot bronze statue that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. There are interesting mentions of the re-use of old buildings by other denominations or even other religions-a Dutch Reformed church is now home to a Chinese Presbyterian congregation; Bulgarian Orthodox Christians meet in a church that was once home to Lutherans and then Catholics; and the Sung Tak Buddhist Association occupies a former synagogue building on the Lower East Side. Overall, this is an outstanding handbook on religion in Manhattan. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

The simple, poignant images in From Abyssinian to Zion... reveal a Gotham rife with sacred tradition.

Time Out New York