South of Union Square
Menu
Place
Share
St. Ann's Church
131 Clinton Street
Posts & Stories
(6)
St. Ann's Church
Post
You can create posts on any image on the platform. Posts appear under their associated photos in Urban Archive. The first post that is written about a location is automatically pinned to the location page. On any post you write, your organization’s name will be added to the bottom of the post to ensure proper accreditation. You can create a post by going to any image and clicking the “🖋️ Create a new Post” button. Similarly, you can edit a post by clicking “Published” to reveal the “Edit” option.
Churches, and Clubs, and Classrooms, Oh My! The History of Saint Ann's School
Story
Though its name seems to suggest otherwise, Saint Ann's is a non-sectarian school known for its non-traditional education style. How it came to be named after a Saint comes from its eclectic history.
St. Ann's Church
Post
St. Ann’s Church (now part of Packer Collegiate Institute) Begun in 1867, St. Ann's was designed by James Renwick, one of the 19th century’s great American architects who also designed St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Grace Church in Manhattan. The church is one of the best examples of “Ruskinian Gothic” in New York. Ruskin, the famous Victorian art critic, advocated using color in architecture often through polychrome stone and brickwork. Here, this is accomplished with alternating bands of rough New Jersey brownstone and smooth, yellowish Ohio sandstone. As with St. Patrick’s, Renwick designed a grand central entrance with magnificent stained glass windows and two flanking entrances all topped with freestanding gables. The interior was built to seat over two-thousand. Large, undisguised cast-iron columns run down each side of the nave supporting the gallery and roof. There is also cast-iron wainscotting along the side aisle walls. St. Ann's is among the earliest American churches to use cast iron in such a way. Organized in 1787, St. Ann’s is the oldest Episcopal parish in Brooklyn. This church was its third home, and the parish wanted a to build the largest and most imposing church in Brooklyn. The new church was expensive, and the parish went into debt to to build it. By 1878, the debt amounted to over $135,000, the church was delinquent on its payments, and Union Dime Bank began foreclosure proceedings. Only a last minute gift of $60,000 from a wealthy banker kept the parish in their church. Wall Street benefited St. Ann’s church again in 1951 when the daughter of Hetty Green, the “Witch of Wall Street” left it a surprise bequest of $500,000. However, nothing could stem the steady decrease of the congregation. In 1967, the parish sold the church to Packer Collegiate school and moved up Clinton Street to The Church of the Holy Trinity, renaming it St. Ann’s and the Holy Trinity. The church building remained closed for years until 2003 when Packer extensively renovated the interior to accommodate classrooms and offices.
Architecture that Inspires: The Packer Collegiate Institute
Story
Located at 170 Joralemon Street, between a rapidly changing downtown Brooklyn and the historic residential neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights, The Packer Collegiate Institute is a designated New York City landmark.
Sample Story
Story
This sample story covers content recommendations, style basics, and features related to writing stories. Stories on Urban Archive allow creators to tell place-based stories using maps, text, and archival imagery. On any story you create, you can see that the story is authored by Your Organization in the byline under the title, which is written in bold. The section here is your introduction. It can include links to exhibitions, events, web-pages, or further resources that are relevant to the story. There is a 2,000 character limit to all body-fields, including your introduction. To edit your introduction, click Draft and then Edit. You'll need to be logged in. For more tutorials and style guides, check out this page.
MAS Brooklyn Survey
Story
Between 1954 and 1957, the Municipal Art Society surveyed historic buildings in all five boroughs to create a database of potential landmarks to preserve. Local residents and MAS staff compiled individual sheets devoted to about 200 buildings. Each sheet outlined the building’s date, location, and style and provided a description and a small photograph. This is the list of Brooklyn buildings.
Photos
(13)
View fullscreen
Students from the Packer Collegiate Institute playing soccer circa 1925
Students from the Packer Collegiate Institute playing soccer in the courtyeard next to St. Ann's Parish House.
St. Ann's Church
This is a caption. You can edit/change this by clicking "edit" on the bottom right corner while you're logged in on the web app. Image is drawn from the Department of Records.
St. Ann's Church
St. Ann's P. E. Church Facade of church with residential buildings in left background and intersecting streets. Caption: "St. Ann's P. E. Church, Clinton and Livingston Streets. It had its beginning in 1784, was incorporated in 1787 and celebrated its centennial on April 23, 1887. ..."
St. Ann's Church
"Singing Towers" on the Heights Facade of St. Ann's Episcopal Church, Clinton Street and Livingston Street: top portion flanked by twin towers and spires. Caption: "'Singing towers' on the Heights--Since shortly after the Civil War the nine bells in the towers of St. Ann's have been ringing out the joys and sorrows of its people. Now they ring as 'the merry, merry, bells of Yule.'".
St. Ann's Church
Visiting prelate preaches Two men in clerical attire standing in a church room shaking hands. Caption: "Visiting prelate preaches--the Rt. Rev. Ivor Stanley Watkins, Bishop of Malmesbury, Bristol, England, left, and the Rev. Melville Harcourt, rector of St. Ann's Episcopal Church \[131 Clinton Street], where Bishop Watkins preached yesterday."
St. Ann's Church
\[St. Ann's Episcopal Church] Facade of St. Ann's Episcopal Church, Clinton Street and Livingston Street, with residential buildings in left and right background, parked automobiles, and eight pedestrians (five men in foreground, two men, one woman on far right). Sign attached to wall between doors: "St. Ann's Church."
St. Ann's Church
St. Ann's Episcopal Church Facade of St. Ann's Episcopal Church, Clinton Street and Livingston Street, with commercial (?) building on far left, two automobiles (one parked, one moving), street light, street signs, and fire hydrant in right foreground, and several pedestrians. Caption: "St. Ann's Episcopal Church--Chosen by the Municipal Art Society as a borough landmark which should be preserved for great local importance, this 85-year-old church at 131 Clinton St. is the "Mother Church" of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island."
St. Ann's Church
St Anne's Church
St. Ann's Church
\[Packer Collegiate Institute Middle School.] Originally St. Ann's Church.
St. Ann's Church
\[Packer Collegiate Institute Middle School.] Originally St. Ann's Church.
St. Ann's Church
Brooklyn: Clinton Street - Joralemon Street Clinton Street, east side, from, but not including Joralemon, to, but not including Schermerhorn Streets. On the right, is shown St. Ann's Episcopal Church. The view is taken north from Schermerhorn Street. June 1, 1929. P. L. Sperr.
St. Ann's Church
St Anne's Church
St. Ann's Church
St. Ann's Episcopal Church Facade of St. Ann's Episcopal Church, Clinton Street and Livingston Street, with residential buildings in left and right background, parked automobiles in left foreground, and intersecting sidewalks.
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Open Map