In the documentary The Tao of 9 Second Avenue, architect John Shuttleworth states that the Church of All Nations “was always a community-oriented building…[cutting] across ethnic boundaries.” He continues to recount that it inherited a “great history of community service,” beginning in 1874 when the Germania Assembly Rooms occupied the site at 9 Second Avenue, then alternatively known as 291 Bowery.
The Germania Assembly Rooms, which are included in The Manhattan Guide’s list of the public halls of greater New York, functioned primarily as a settlement house for German immigrants. In his King’s How to See New York: A Complete Trustworthy Guide Book, Moses King calls the institution “a dance and meeting hall.” The Telegraph Herald adds that members of the Arion Singing Society used the Germania Assembly Rooms as a communal space.
By the early twentieth century Hadley Rescue Hall and Wesley Rescue Hall occupied the site, with 293 Bowery as their addresses. Members of the Church of All Nations ran the halls, providing food, shelter, and religious support to “destitute” and “outcast” locals in the Bowery. The Christian Advocate in particular details the Wesley Rescue Hall’s rehabilitation of over 15,000 men and solicits donations of clothing and shoes for its members. The New York Charities Directory lists Hadley Rescue Hall as a place where “drunkards and criminals of both sexes are welcome and assistance is given when necessary.”
After its official opening at 9 Second Avenue on February 15, 1923, the Church of All Nations continued to provide services to the local community. Many interviewees in The Tao of 9 Second Avenue echo Shuttleworth’s comments, noting that the Church accepted and embraced people of all races and religions. Members could attend religious services in its chapel, which were given in Polish, Chinese, Russian, and English. According to Judy Sutula, a local synagogue even used the chapel for its Passover celebrations.
The New York Charities Directory chronicles other activities hosted by the “settlement house,” including the Church’s English, Yiddish, Italian, Chinese, Russian, and German events. It also offered educational classes and kindergarten for young children in addition to gymnastics and sewing school. The Church’s “Fresh Air Fund vacations,” funded completely through donation, sent city children on free summer getaways in June, July, and August.
In 1951 the New York Times advertised free puppet shows and demonstrations hosted by the Church’s Pioneer Youth Camp Program. Older Church of All Nations members could take part in theatre performances, which were either presented as part of the works division of the Department of Public Welfare or held as fundraisers for the Church.
Local athletics clubs, like the Chinese Athletic Club and the Young People’s Christian Foundation, used the building’s sports facilities for friendly games. A rent-control station opened in the Church in 1947, allowing Lower East Side tenants to get information about their landlords and apply for rent reductions.
The Church of All Nations also served as a forum where local residents could voice their opinions and exchange ideas about particular issues. In 1928 Russian members attended a speech on Christianity, communism, and materialism hosted by the Reverend Dr. Timothy Peshkoff, the Church’s Russian pastor. Union laborers on strike over low WPA wage scales gathered in the building in 1935 to send a telegram to Mayor LaGuardia refusing to return to work. When the price of milk increased by half a cent in 1939, the Consumers’ Protective Group called a public meeting and planned a protest in the Church’s auditorium.
The Church of All Nations was not the only institution committed to community service in Manhattan in the early part of the twentieth century. Much like other organizations listed in The Manhattan Guide and The New York Charities Directory, it supplied essential social, health, and religious services to local residents. The Church of All Nations also provided its members with a space to form and strengthen communal bonds, which permanently ceased with the building’s demolition in 2005.
The documentary listed at the beginning seems informative, especially in context to our class. I am interested in checking it out and learning more about the buildings.
I think you did a good job of providing information on the church from different resources, however some of the images and the title of the piece detracted from my experience.
With some of the text images, such as the first two, I had a hard time seeing how it enhanced my understanding of the article. They were also hard to read. I thought it was a good idea to include the red arrows to orient the reader, but felt the work of clicking to enlarge and squinting to read wasn’t completely necessary. A more visually illustrative image would have been better, or sacrificing the image altogether for more of a descriptive analysis on the Germania Assembly Rooms.
The title of the article gives a negative impression before you even start to read it. By saying, ‘A Long History,’ it seems that the article is going to be dense, dry, and maybe a little hard to get through. The article itself was not exhaustive, so I assume you meant the church’s history of community service is long, rather than the article is a long history of community service. You quote John Shuttleworth as attributing a “great history of community service” to the church, which serves a more appetizing function. Using this angle gives a more jovial invitation to the reader.
The title also neglects to reference the church’s progressive acceptance of ethnic diversity, an interesting theme that was explored in the article but not previewed in the title. I think by changing the title to incorporate its different themes and interesting information, the article would be more alluring.
I was really drawn to the colors of the church photograph, moving this to the top could be useful in orienting the reader in connecting your research to a tangible image.
Best,
Emily
Hi Emily,
The Tao of 9 Second Avenue is a fantastic documentary so I would definitely recommend watching it if you’re interested in the history of this part of the Lower East Side. I’m not sure what you mean by “article” (I think you’re just referring to my blog post) but you’re absolutely right. The title of the post is in reference to the temporally “long” history of the Church of All Nations in providing service to the local community. I included the first few images because, in the context of my research, they were great finds. There is relatively little written about the Germania Assembly Rooms and the two rescue halls, so locating information about them – even just listings at relatively low quality – was incredibly satisfying for me. I actually just found two photographs of Hadley Rescue Hall (in the public domain!), so those will certainly make an appearance in my exhibit. In any case, I’m very glad to hear that you enjoyed the last image of the Church. There will be more photographs of the building, as well as more information on the Church’s acceptance of people from various races and ethnic groups, in the final exhibit.
Thanks for your comment!
Cristina
Hi Christina,
Yes, I meant article in that I was reading your post as a trusted source of information ‘published’ through our online blog. My other comments were only personal suggestions. I had a hard time reading some of the print and was more attracted to the later images, and thought this could be a useful rearrangement to draw in readers. The title just read differently to me, but I see what you mean. I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my suggestions, and look forward to your exhibit.
Just seeing a picture of the building brought tears to my eyes. I went through those red doors almost every night. I played in the gym, learned how to swim,did arts and crafts and attended dances.I also attended the church and sang in the choir. In the summer they sent me to camp where I slept in a covered wagon. I was one lucky child and I will never forget miss Burdick or Rev.White or any of the many people who helped me become the person I am today. Maybe if children had more places like The Church of All Nations it would be a much more peaceful world. Thank you, Ellen
Hi Ellen Im Cathee bruno.. I too went to COAN for many years. I went to Trail Blazer camp. I wonder if we knew each other back then? Such fond memories if COAN The swimming,the game room the room with the fire place and Christmas and so much more. Im am still in touch with many of us that went. .
[…] Source: This article was originally published on the NYU student site Researching Greenwich Village History, Companion site to Creating Digital History (NYU GA HIST.2033). www.greenwichvillagehistory.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/a-long-history-of-community-service-at-the-chur… […]
hi,
thank you for that. The Church of All Nations was a wonderful place!
I went to nursery school there and remember Christmas pagents, I even got to kiss Roy Rogers when he donated the Roy Rogers Room at COAN
My dad Nick worked there for many, many years. God bless Miss Burdick and all of the people who helped shape kids like me .
Patti Zito-Volynets
[…] Source: This article was originally published on the NYU student site Researching Greenwich Village History, Companion site to Creating Digital History (NYU GA HIST.2033). www.greenwichvillagehistory.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/a-long-history-of-community-service-at-the-chur… […]
I turned 78 yesterday and I have not ever forgotten the Church of All Nations. I lived on East 4th street between 1st and Ave. A in a tenement. My Mom was a single Mother who worked as a secretary and raised us three children on her own. We lived with my Grand Father and Grand Mother, but she died when we were very young. My Mom dropped us off at the nursery every morning and picked us up at 5:00 – we were there from about 4 years old until we entered first grade, P.S. 63 across from where we lived. This was our second home. We sent through every period of our lives there. I went to Trail Blazers camp, the best experience of my life, being a city kid. My two Brothers had no interest. As teenagers, we went to dances, basketball games, Christmas pageants. We all received gifts at Christmas packaged especially for each kid. The diversity of religions, races, ethnicities was phenomenal. To this I say everyone should have grown up on the lower east side , if only to meet so many wonderful human beings, and never giving a thought to race, And let’s not forget Joe Giglia, our role model. He was our Father figure.In our minds, he was our Father. His daughter Gloria and I are friends to this day. We met in nursery school. Joe mentored the boys especially, he refereed basketball games and was always there for us. He was the Asst. Director of the COAN. Thelma Burdick was the Director, a very lovely lady, who took no crap from anyone. She was a defender of the people in the neighborhood and fought Moses when he wanted to tear down the tenements for a highway to Long Island. I lgrew up to be a counselor there. And eventually Florence Alden’s (the Financial person who raised money for the COAN) husband Alex Alden got me my first job. So I really was there from very young to adulthood. And the impression those wonderful people made on me will never be forgotten.
I saw tons of plays on Broadway because of Florence. I never would have been able to go to a Broadway show. That’s how she raised money for the COAN – she organized benefits at the theater. God Bless the COAN and all that they did for all of us. I will never ever forget them. Barbara LaCorte Latham