BOWERY MISSION

227 Bowery
William Jose, Marshal L. and Henry C.
Emery, Diffendale and Kubec
1876; alterations 1908–1909; renovations 2001

The Bowery Mission was organized in 1879 and at the time was the third rescue mission in America. It was organized as a response to the rampant homelessness on the Bowery after the Civil War. The mission moved to the five story building (which originally was a coffin factory) in 1909, and President William Taft visited later that year. After 1909 this building received upgrades including fireproofing, and it also received a new chapel and façade. The Tudor Revival style was chosen because it is emulative of an English inn, suggesting a welcoming public place. The stained-glass windows depict the parable of the Prodigal Son and are attributed to Tiffany-trained artist Benjamin Sellers. The three-story building next to the mission is a circa 1830 Federal-style house. It was modified in 1895 to the Italianate style it retains today and was unified with the mission next door in 1980.

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