1315 Olmstead Ave
1940-41, Eggers & Higgins

In 1940, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York purchased a site at the corner of Westchester and Olmstead Avenues to build a church and school for the residents of the recently inaugurated Parkchester Complex. It was estimated that St. Helena would have around 10,000 parishioners. The design was commissioned to the prominent firm of Eggers & Higgins, responsible for the construction phase of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art. They had been longtime associates of renowned architect John Russell Pope, who died in 1937. The massive brick structure adeptly contains a church, a rectory, a parochial school and a convent, all while clearly representing its ecclesiastical purpose from the exterior. Ornamentation is kept simple, expressed mostly through limestone trim and setbacks. The interior has coffered ceilings with stenciled beams, and stained-glass windows designed by the Payne Spiers Studios, Inc. in New York City. Construction was completed in 1941, and was dedicated in 1942 by Archbishop Francis J. Spellman. The church quickly became a community staple, acquiring more land in the late 1940s to expand the school facilities. This included, among other structures, a business school that operated from 1957 to 2002. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.