106 Powers Street, 1937. Situated among attached vernacular residential buildings, this unassuming structure on Powers Street played a major role in the religious history of New York City. The simple peaked roof building was constructed in 1885 by architect O. H. Doolittle for a Methodist Episcopal Church. The Methodists vacated the building by the turn of the century and it was soon after occupied the Powers Street Gospel Mission Church. In 1913 the building became the clubhouse and assembly hall of the local Democratic party. In 1931 the church and its parish house neighbor were sold to the American Mohammedan Society, and became the first mosque in New York City. While Muslims had worshiped in various informal venues in the city, this was the first long-surviving dedicated mosque. (Alexander Russell Webb, an early American Muslim convert had established a mosque on Broadway in 1895, but it was extremely short-lived.) Founded in 1907, Society was established by a group of Eastern European Muslim Tatars who settled in Williamsburg. While various buildings around the city have switched from church to synagogue and visa versa, this was a new kind of religious conversion: from church to mosque. And while most later purpose-built mosques in the city follow a specific and particular architectural style (onion domes, minarets, and decorative tile), this church building would have looked like the perfect venue for the Muslim Tatars. In their homeland, they would have worshiped in simple wood-frame mosques. The society added a tiny wooden minaret on the roof and a crescent moon on the facade, and for the next half-century worshiped here as a tight-knit community. In 1962, Joseph Mitchell, noted journalist and poetic explorer of New York's historic locales, wrote of the mosque, " It is a steep-roofed, clapboard-sided, two-story building with tall wooden doors and tall, colored-glass windows. Except for one appendage, it closely resembles a New England town hall." The community that once worshiped here has dispersed; there is no longer a Tatar population in Williamsburg. Today the building houses the Brooklyn Moslem Mosque, which, though well kept, is largely unused except for religious festivals like Eid and Ramadan.

Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg Brooklyn, photographed from the roof of No. 590 Metropolitan, March 26, 1917. The view is eastward toward Leonard street; No. 605 Metropolitan is the first stoop visible at bottom left.

Giglio Feast Every July a few typically sleepy residential streets in Williamsburg erupt into a festival of lights, food, music, and parades. This is, of course, the annual celebration sponsored by Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, also known as the Giglio Feast. Since so many of us have enjoyed the sights and sounds (and funnel cakes) of this week-long event, it is only prudent that we take a moment to look into the origin and history of this Italian-American tradition. Since 1954 the Feast has been combined with a second traditional feast honoring Our Lady of Saint Carmel. Celebrated in July, the feast lasts for 12 days and includes religious ceremonies, a street fair, games, food and fundraising for the church. One of the important activities of the Feast is the “Questua” a tradition that begins at 5am, when loaves of bread are picked up from a local bakery. Over the next twelve hours volunteers walk for miles through the street, distributing bread to local families. The following day is Giglio Sunday, which begins with another procession to pick up important Feast participants and ends at the church for a special Giglio Mass. After a breakfast, it’s time for the lifting and procession of the Giglio. The Giglio Feast celebrates a selfless act of bravery by Bishop Paolino, who lived in the small Italian city of Nola in the early 5th century. The city was invaded by pirates in 410 AD, and although the Bishop escaped, he returned to find that many of the city’s young men had been sold into slavery. The Bishop offered himself to the pirates in exchange for the release of one of the men, the son of a local widow. The pirates accepted and took the Bishop prisoner instead. The tale of his courage reached the ears of a Turkish ruler, who was so moved by his sacrifice that he arranged for the Bishop’s freedom. When he returned to Nola he was greeted by the townspeople carrying lilies. Gigli, Italian for lily, traditionally represented love and purity and came to symbolize the Bishop’s selflessness. The procession of lilies became an annual event in Nola, with local merchants competing for the most elaborate display. Over the years the Giglio has evolved into a 4 ton, 65 foot high pyramid of papier-mâché, styrofoam and flowers depicting saints, angels and on the top, Saint Paolino. The Giglio rests on a platform that also supports several musicians and their instruments. In front of a cheering crowd, 112 men lift and “dance” the Giglio to music provided by the band, including the Feast’s traditional song, “O' Giglio 'e Paradiso.” In addition to cheering on the lifters, Giglio Sunday attendees can expect a street fair with games, rides and food. This is a time for tradition, community and fun; a time for people who have moved away from Williamsburg to come home.

Looking north along Lorimer Street, Brooklyn, New York, showing the construction of the BMT Carnarsie Line. A drugstore is situated on the northeast corner, 1920.

View west toward the intersection Metropolitan Avenue and Lorimer Street, prior to construction of the BMT Canarsie Line, June 16, 1916. The building at right with the large tobacco advertisement is No. 593 Metropolitan Avenue.

Free Lawn Sporting Club, 600 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn. September 22, 1942.

North 7th Street, west from Union Avenue, during construction of the BMT Canarsie line, October 20, 1920. Construction derricks are visible in the distance, as excavation for the Canarsie line moves through Williamsburg. North 7th Street bisected the ninety-degree angle formed by Metropolitan (left, our of frame) and Union (right) Avenues, prior to the construction of the Brooklyn—Queens Expressway. The buildings in the foreground have been razed; today, the site is Macri Triangle Park.

Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. August 9, 1935. The Lombardian Romanesque Roman Catholic Church was completed in 1870. Originally a German parish, the church was purchased by a coalition of Lithuanian Catholics in 1914. Today, the church provides English, Lithuanian, and Spanish-language services.

Muslims make up approximately 9% of New York City's population. In the early 20th century, a portion of lower Manhattan was known as "Little Syria," where the New York Sun reported a "Turkish Chapel" on Rector Street, while in Brooklyn, a group of Eastern European Muslims converted a church into a place for them to worship. In more recent years, Muslims from all over have moved to the city to made it their home.

Now lined with trendy restaurants, fun bars, and interesting stores, its easy to imagine that Metropolitan Avenue is part of a new New York, but its history stretches back much further. Metropolitan Avenue was laid in 1813 following an American Indian Trail. It runs nearly eight miles between Brooklyn and Queens, connecting the East River with Jamaica Avenue.

Metropolitan Avenue and Lorimer Street Station, ca 1941. A crew of workers pumps water from a flooded IND Crosstown Line Station. This photo was taken before the IND Crosstown Line (G) was connected to the Canarsie Line (L).

Graham and Metropolitan Avenues, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; shot by Berenice Abbott. June 1, 1937. The corner building includes intricate cornice work with raised panel, dated 1893, topped with a lute sculpture, and a hipped pyramidal tower. Today, the wooden clapboards have been replaced by vinyl siding and the facade has been stripped of any ornamentation. At lower left is the entrance to the Graham Street Station of the BMT Canarsie Line (today’s L train).