209-211 W 30th St
1872, Napoleon Le Brun & Sons

Founded in 1840, Saint John the Baptist is the second Catholic Church built by German immigrants in Manhattan. The congregation initially built a small frame structure that was destroyed by a fire in 1847 and replaced by a brick building. The arrival of a new pastor in 1870 and the congregation's continuous growth prompted plans for a new larger church. The renowned firm of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons was commissioned for the design, and construction began in 1871. The French Gothic sandstone structure is set back from the street and raised above it on a base, with a main entrance marked by a Gothic-arch porch. Above it rises a spire added in 1890, which contained five swinging bells. St. Fidelis Monastery was built in 1872 adjacent to the church to house the Capuchin friars. Once a beacon among a mostly residential neighborhood, St. John the Baptist remains a community staple, open to the public and one of the few remnants of that 19th-century landscape.