Church of the Pilgrims (later Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral), March 1, 1929.

The Romanesque Revival Church of the Pilgrims was designed by prolific ecclesiastical architect and Brooklyn resident Richard Upjohn, with two years of construction completed in 1846. In 1934, the Episcopal congregation merged with Plymouth Church, on nearby Orange Street, and shifted services there.

Meanwhile, a few blocks west, the Maronite Catholic Our Lady of Lebanon congregation was established in a Hicks Street townhouse in 1903. Forty years later, Our Lady of Lebanon purchased the former Church of the Pilgrims. Today’s church features many notable details contributed by the patrons of the Maronite Catholic community, including marble and onyx flooring from the French and Lebanese pavilions at the 1939 World’s Fair. Furthermore, the doors of the Church were taken from the famous steamship Normandie that burned in New York s harbor.

In the background of P.L. Sperr’s 1929 photo, skyscrapers on Court Street, opposite Brooklyn’s civic center are visible under construction.