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Calvary Baptist Church (Manhattan)

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40°45′55″N 73°58′42″W / 40.765197°N 73.978431°W / 40.765197; -73.978431

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The church's current home at 125 West 57th Street

Calvary Baptist Church is a Baptist church at 123 West 57th Street, near Carnegie Hall in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1847, the congregation has been based on West 57th Street since 1883 and was an early religious broadcaster, starting its own radio station in 1923. Its current home, which it owns, occupies the lower six floors and two basement levels of a 30-story tower built on the site of its former building, with a 700-seat sanctuary.

History

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The church's former building (1931–2022), an early "skyscraper" church at 123 West 57th Street

The church was founded in 1847,[1] and its first sanctuary was at 50 West 23rd Street, completed in 1854. It then moved to a red sandstone Gothic church designed by John Rochester Thomas at its current location, which was built in 1883–1884. It also had a chapel at 223 West 67th Street, which was later used by St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church.[2]

In 1923, Calvary became one of the earliest churches to operate its own radio station and has since maintained a long tradition of widely followed religious broadcasts.[3] Its weekly program, Tell It From Calvary, was carried on WMCA as of 2020[4] and is now distributed as a weekly sermon podcast.[5]

The building at 123 West 57th Street was an early example of an urban high-rise, or "skyscraper", church, a 16-story building which also included the Hotel Salisbury, an apartment hotel. Planning for the edifice began in 1929, with the design credited to the firm of Jardine, Hill & Murdock, and the building was dedicated in 1931.[2][6][7][8] The pianist Van Cliburn, a resident of the hotel, was a member of the church.[9] The evangelists Billy Sunday[10] and Billy Graham[9] both preached at Calvary.

In 2019, the church reached an agreement with the developers Alchemy-ABR Investment Partners to replace its building with a new tower containing offices, shops, and a church, in which the church would own its own space as a condominium.[11][12][13][14] The Salisbury Hotel closed in 2020.[15] After a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the redevelopment deal closed in 2021,[16][15][17] and construction of the new building was under way by late 2022.[18] During construction, the congregation met in temporary space on the Upper West Side.[19]

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The church's entrance on 57th Street (2026)

The 30-story tower at 125 West 57th Street, designed by FXCollaborative, was completed in early 2026.[20] The church occupies the tower's lower six floors and two basement levels, with its own entrance on 57th Street.[20] Its facilities include a 700-seat sanctuary, classrooms, and a fellowship hall.[21]

Senior pastors

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References

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  1. ↑ "Calvary Baptist Church. A brief sketch of its rise and progress". The New York Times, (February 15, 1875), page 6. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Dunlap, David W. (2004). From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12543-7., p.37
  3. ↑ Jaker, Bill; Sulek, Frank; Kanze, Peter (1998). The Airwaves of New York: Illustrated Histories of 156 AM Stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921–1996. McFarland. p. 168.
  4. ↑ "Welcome to WMCA 570 AM & 102.3 FM - New York | The Mission WMCA - New York, NY". May 29, 2020. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Podcasts". Calvary Baptist Church. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  6. ↑ Bergman, Edward F. (2001). The Spiritual Traveler: New York City. HiddenSpring. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-58768-003-8.
  7. ↑ Balmer, Randall Herbert; Silk, Mark (2006). Religion and Public Life in the Middle Atlantic Region: The Fount of Diversity. AltaMira Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-7591-0637-6.
  8. ↑ Watson, Edward B.; Gillon, Edmund Vincent (1976). New York Then and Now: 83 Manhattan Sites Photographed in the Past and Present. Dover Publications. pp. 164–165. ISBN 978-0-486-23361-1.
  9. 1 2 3 Bell, Charles W. (February 14, 1998). "An upbeat old-time preacher". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  10. ↑ "BILLY SUNDAY BACK WITH OLD 'GINGER'; Calvary Church Packed as the Evangelist Opens 2 Weeks of 'Real Preaching.'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  11. ↑ Bockmann, Rich (October 7, 2019). "Developer behind Woolworth conversion planning Billionaires' Row office tower". The Real Deal. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  12. ↑ Gannon, Devin (October 7, 2019). "26-story office building planned on top of the Calvary Baptist Church next to One57 on Billionaires' Row". 6sqft. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Billionaire's Row Is Getting A New Development: Records". Midtown-Hell's Kitchen, NY Patch. November 26, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  14. ↑ Londono, Vanessa (November 9, 2019). "Demo Permits Filed for 123 West 57th Street in Midtown, Manhattan". New York YIMBY. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  15. 1 2 Hughes, C. J. (July 19, 2021). "Developer holds firm on Billionaires Row office project". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Calvary Baptist Church sells property on 57th Street". The Real Deal New York. June 21, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Church in New York City to Become Office Tower – CTBUH". Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat – CTBUH. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  18. ↑ Young, Michael (October 16, 2022). "Excavation Progresses for 30-Story Office Tower at 125 West 57th Street in Midtown, Manhattan". New York YIMBY. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  19. ↑ Baird-Remba, Rebecca (December 13, 2023). "Calvary Baptist Church Leases Space Inside Upper West Side Synagogue". Commercial Observer. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  20. 1 2 Young, Michael; Pruznick, Matt (February 5, 2026). "125 West 57th Street Completes Construction in Midtown, Manhattan". New York YIMBY. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Calvary Baptist Church". FXCollaborative. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  22. ↑ "History of Calvary Baptist" Archived October 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine on the Calvary Baptist Church website
  23. ↑ "About the early history and the building of a new edifice". Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine. Vol. 13. 1883. p. 53.
  24. ↑ MacArthur, Robert Stuart (April 1910). The Expositor and Current Anecdotes. Vol. 11. Cleveland, Ohio. p. 372.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  25. ↑ "Rev Dr. R.S. MacArthur, founder, withdraws from membership because of sensationalism" The New York Times (March 8, 1922), page 1
  26. ↑ "The modern dance". The Lutheran Witness. Vol. 36, no. 22. October 30, 1917. pp. 335–336.
  27. ↑ Giordano, Ralph (2008). Satan in the Dance Hall: Rev. John Roach Straton, Social Dancing, and Morality in 1920s New York City. Scarecrow Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8108-6146-6.
  28. ↑ Lingeman, Richard R. (2005). Sinclair Lewis: Rebel from Main Street. Borealis Books. pp. 267–268. ISBN 978-0-87351-541-2.
  29. ↑ "Religion: Calvary Baptists". Time. July 4, 1927.
  30. ↑ "Religion: Blatant Straton". Time. August 30, 1928.
  31. ↑ Carpenter, Joel A. (1997). Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism. Oxford University Press. p. 46.
  32. ↑ "DR. HOUGHTON QUITS CALVARY CHURCH; Pastor Ends Four-Year Service to Head the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. SUCCEEDED DR. STRATON 16-Story Salisbury Hotel Built Under His Administration -Brought Billy Sunday Here". The New York Times. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  33. ↑ Balmer, Randall Herbert. "Ayer, William Ward (1892–1985)". Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism. pp. 39–40.
  34. ↑ "Religion: Twisting the Devil's Tail". Time. March 16, 1953.
  35. ↑ "CALVARY BAPTIST INSTALLS BRITON; Billy Graham Asks Church to Back Olford's Work in 'Dark and Pagan' City". The New York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Olford Ministries International". Archived from the original on February 25, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Olford Resigns as Pastor Of Calvary Baptist Church". The New York Times. January 20, 1973. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Who We Are". Calvary Baptist Church. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  39. ↑ Kim, Madison Y. (May 27, 2004). "Kathie Lee Comes Back with "Gentle Grace"". Christian Today. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
  40. ↑ "Meet the Team". Calvary Baptist Church. Retrieved October 24, 2026.
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