CECILIA, you’re breakin’ my heart. The St. Cecilia Church parish was founded in 1877, while its classic church building, nearly basilica-size at Herbert and North Henry Streets, was built from 1891-1901 by ecclesiastical architect Thomas Poole. Its green copper dome was a familiar sight for me when visiting friends in the area, and it’s quite obvious when traveling north on the nearby Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The stained-glass windows include renderings of Saint Cecilia, who is the patron saint of music; according to legend, she was a martyr in second-century Common Era Rome.
My focus today, though, is on the magnificent brick former grade school associated with the parish, at Richardson and Monitor, a couple of blocks away. It doesn’t seem to have made the architectural books, but it’s notable nonetheless. Look at those “SC” entablatures found above the windows on the second and third floors. The building was dedicated in 1907, a few years after the church itself.
The parish unfortunately ran out of wherewithal to maintain the school and the shuttered the sschool in 2008, 101 years after it opened. The school was purchased by a developer, who created over 60 apartments within. Fortunately, not a lot of alterations to the exterior had to be made. School construction of the early 20th Century is the best.
As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site. Take a look at the new JOBS link in the red toolbar at the top of the page on the desktop version, as I also get a small payment when you view a job via that link.
1/2/24