Studebaker Cathedral: 1908

Fantastic collection, well done.

BTW, I keep expecting to get to the full sized image by clicking on the smaller one...

Oh, that's another thing: the size of the pictures. 99% of pictures on the web are way too small. Kudos for bucking that trend.

The church my wife went to when she was growing up used to be a Studebaker dealership. Turnabout happens, I guess!

The Marmon Tabernacle! Good one, AT.

Denny Gill
Chugiak, Alaska

This NY Times article from June 16, 1909, details plans to replace the church with a theater. The church was at 137-143 West 48th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues, which is now the location of the 1221 Avenue of the Americas "Breezeway" and loading dock. Ironic that it's still kind of a garage.

William A. Brady was the backer, and Herbert L. May of Pittsburgh sold the property to a syndicate headed by A.C. Quarrier. The new theater was to be called The Netherland.

"From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship" by David W. Dunlap lists the address of First Church of Christ, Scientist as 139 West 48th Street - the former All Souls Episcopal Church, a Romanesque-style church built in 1861. Just across the street from the Cort Theater today.

The 1908 International Motor Cyclopaedia lists a Studebaker Garage at 48th and Broadway.

The address is now the loading dock for 1221 Avenue of the Americas.

This was the old First Church of Christ, Scientist, at 143 West 48th Street. It moved to 1 West 96th Street at Central Park West in 1904 because the old building was too small.

Some info on the "new" building.

From Google Books, a history of the church.

You can see that this is a garage - and probably also a dealership - because the main door has been adapted with a ramp so that cars can enter and exit.

What I'd really be interested in is the actual location. According to Google Earth there's a 48th Street in Queens that runs from Newton Creek to 19th Avenue, but I suppose that the photographer has equated New York with Manhattan. There, 48th Street is of course split between East and West 48th running from just north of the United Nations in the east to the Passenger Ship Terminal in the west with the south edge of Rockefeller Center in the middle. Undoubtedly every building in this photo is long gone, but it would be interesting to see what replaced it.

I found this photograph a bit shocking at first glance. The collision of the sacred and profane, if you will. I wonder if folks felt a bit put-off by it at the time? I can see the church name (or its ghost image) on the arch. Can someone tell us if this building still exists?

Doesn't anybody read the captions before sending questions?

[The giant STUDEBAKER GARAGE sign would also be a clue. - Dave]

Could someone explain why this building is called a garage?

[Because that's what it is. - Dave]

Garage noun A shelter or repair shop for automotive vehicles.

And they said America worships the automobile. Well, this'll show'em.

Across the street: The Marmon Tabernacle.