Church of the Ascension, Roman Catholic (Manhattan)

Church of the Ascension
Ascension Church
Location	221 West 107th St. Manhattan (New York City), New York
Country	USA
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	ascensionchurchnyc.org
History
Status	Parish church
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	Schickel & Ditmars
Architectural type	Church
Style	Sicilian Romanesque of the Norman and Byzantine hybrid style
Years built	1896–7
Completed	1897
Administration
Province	Metropolitan Province of New York
Archdiocese	New York
Clergy
Pastor(s)	Rev. Dan Kearney
Laity
Organist(s)	Preston Smith
Business manager	Philip Zeafla

The Church of the Ascension is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 221 West 107th Street in the Manhattan Valley section of the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The parish was established in 1895.

Buildings

The elaborate midblock church, located on 107th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, has an attached parish house, both designed in the Sicilian Romanesque of the Norman and Byzantine hybrid style and built between 1896 and 1897 to the designs by the American of German descent Roman Catholic church-building architectural firm of Schickel & Ditmars. The parish has a four-storey brick and stone parochial school built by P. J. Brennan & Son, builders, in 1911 to designs by architect F. A. de Meuron of 31 East 27th Street for $120,000. A five-storey brick dwelling house was erected at 218 West 108th Street in 1927 to the designs by architect Robert J. Reilly of 12 E 41st Street for $100,000. The church was renovated in 1939.

Organ

The Müller & Abel organ and organ case was built in 1898. Around 1900, a used two-manual pipe organ was installed in the Lower Church. Specifications of this organ have not yet been located. During 1939 renovations of the lower church, a new two-manual pipe organ was installed in 1939 by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts, and replaced the Müller & Abel organ. "Sometime after 1970, the chapel was closed and the organ was removed."

Notable events

The church has been the filming location for films and television shows, including Keeping the Faith (2000) and as "Trinity Church" in the "Book of Hours" episode from the first season of White Collar (2009).