Church of the Resurrection

85-09 118th Street
Nathaniel W. Vickers
1904
National Register of Historic Places

The Church of the Resurrection, founded in the late 1860s as a mission of Grace Episcopal Church of Jamaica, was the first religious organization established in Richmond Hill. It built its first home on this site in 1874 when the surrounding suburban neighborhood was still mostly made up of unoccupied lots. A series of subsequent alterations culminated in 1904 with the construction of an entirely new stone and half-timbered structure around the existing church building, resulting in its present form and appearance. Like many Episcopal churches, the design takes its inspiration from the medieval parish churches of England, with its picturesque rooflines, asymmetrical massing and rustic materials palette of quarry stone, stucco and half-timbering. One of its most noted congregants was Jacob Riis, who donated the stained glass triptych in the north wall of the church in memory of his wife Elizabeth in 1905. The rectory building, constructed in 1888 on the corner lot directly to the north, has been known informally as “Riis House,” although there is no record that the family ever lived there. The Church of the Resurrection is still an active congregation and its building was placed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 2003.

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