The recorded history of Yorkville begins in the 17th century when it was a tiny hamlet on the Boston Post Road, which ran northward from New York, which at the time only occupied the tip of Manhattan. It was long the province of farmers and wealthy landowners, including merchant Archibald Gracie, whose riverfront estate is now the official residence of New York’s mayor. In the 19th century, the area slowly began its transformation into the urban neighborhood we see today. Like most such transformations in New York, these changes were largely propelled by transportation improvements. In 1834, the New York & Harlem Railroad (later the New York Central) opened a station at 86th Street and Park Avenue, and in the 1850s, horsecar lines were completed along Second and Third Avenues. This opened the neighborhood to low-density residential development, a few remnants of which remain, including 412 East 85th Street. After two major economic depressions (in 1857 and 1873) and the Civil War, the area was finally primed for a major wave of construction in the late 1870s with the arrival of mass transit. The Third Avenue elevated train was completed in 1877-78, and the Second Avenue elevated in 1879-80. In a relatively short period, the Upper East Side was entirely built up, and the elevated trains segregated the area along ethnic and economic lines. West of Third Avenue, wealthy homeowners established the city’s most exclusive neighborhood, while east of Third Avenue became a thriving immigrant community (already known as Yorkville by the 1860s), which in many ways was a second-generation immigrant neighborhood—a place that recent arrivals aspired to live after filtering through the older, more congested downtown districts like the Lower East Side. Its housing stock was largely composed of tenements, but they were brand new and built after the Tenement Law of 1879 (the “Old Law”), so were subject to improvements. There were abundant employment opportunities, notably in the neighborhood’s breweries and at the Steinway piano factory in Queens, which was a short ferry ride away from the foot of East 92nd Street. The largest and perhaps most visible immigrant group in Yorkville was the Germans. Already an established presence in New York following a wave of immigration in the 1840s, they began moving uptown from their Lower East Side settlement, Kleindeutschland (Little Germany) to Yorkville, which by the turn of the century had become New York’s foremost German neighborhood. They brought with them many of their institutions, including churches and benevolent organizations, as well as cultural and commercial enterprises, such as beer halls and music societies. East 86th Street became the community’s main artery. Other groups had micro-neighborhoods in Yorkville, as well. Czechs began moving to the area in the 1880s and settled mostly between 71st and 75th Streets. Hungarians arrived around the turn of the 20th century on East 79th Street, though their institutions can be found throughout the neighborhood. Yorkville’s heyday as a distinct immigrant community was relatively short-lived. German immigration to New York peaked in 1882, and by the early 20th century, Yorkville’s Germans were already moving farther afield, using the recently built subway to access newer, more affordable neighborhoods in the outer boroughs. At the same time, anti-German sentiment during World War I led many Germans to downplay overt displays of national heritage. The Second Avenue and Third Avenue elevated trains were demolished in the 1940s and 1950s, respectively, removing one of the major boundaries between Yorkville and the rest of the Upper East Side. The neighborhood has seen its share of redevelopment since then, with large apartment buildings towering over the tenements. The recent opening of the Second Avenue subway re-established one of the area’s transit links, but may also put additional pressure on Yorkville’s surviving historic resources.

Our Lady of Good Counsel, ca. 1975. This late 19th century Roman Catholic Church stood across from the Ruppert & Company brewery in Yorkville for more than 70 years. Our Lady of Good Counsel was part of a wave of new churches built by the Archdiocese of New York to serve Yorkville’s growing population, including the German immigrant communities who made up Ruppert’s workforce. The brewery complex closed in 1965 and was later razed, opening new sightlines architect Thomas Poole’s Gothic facade — described in the AIA Guide to New York as “robust, undisciplined, deeply three-dimensional.”

Our Lady of Good Counsel, 1931. By the 1880 and 1890s, Yorkville was a booming area with a large influx of German and Irish immigrant families. During this time the only major Catholic church in the neighborhood was St. Lawrence O'Toole (now St. Ignatius Loyola) on 84th Street. To accommodate this growing community the diocese planned to built a few new churches. The Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel was one of these buildings. It was completed in 1892. The distinctive stone facade includes crenelated coping and turrets, and echos similar architectural details of the nearby Calvary Squadron A Armory (Madison between 94th and 95th Streets).

A collection of churches across New York City from the New York Public Library.

Our Lady of Good Counsel, at 230 East 90th Street, was built in 1892 as one of the first churches in Northern Yorkville. It was designed by architect Thomas H. Poole in a melange of styles including Gothic and Tudor elements. The church also features elaborate stained-glass windows by Franz Mayer and Co., a renowned German manufacturer. Our Lady originally served Yorkville’s Irish and German communities, comprised of workers from the nearby breweries and factories. Our Lady overlooked the looming bulk of the breweries that dominated the neighborhood’s streetscape. As the Parish grew, the church expanded in 1905 to include a school and convent, and in 1908 to offer a nursery and parish house. Today Our Lady still serves and reflects our community: In addition to Mass in English, the Church conducts Mass in Spanish and offers a Spanish Youth Group. With the breweries gone, the church now looks over Ruppert Park and its popular children’s playground

In tandem with our exhibition, Cycling in the City: A 200 Year History, we are excited to invite you on a bike tour throughout our neighborhood. MCNY's little section of the world, nestled between the Upper East Side and East Harlem, has a plethora of amazing buildings and sites with an even more amazing history. We suggest that you stick to the labeled bike lanes and follow the safety rules of biking in the city. Never text and ride at the same time, and always wear a helmet!