Calvary Baptist Church (Manhattan)
Calvary Baptist Church is a Baptist independent church, located at 123 West 57th Street between the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and Seventh Avenue, near Carnegie Hall in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 123 W. 57th Street facility is under renovation - until the renovation is complete, Calvary will gather every Sunday at 10 a.m. at Assembly Hall on the Manhattan campus of Hunter College, located at 695 Park Ave, New York, NY 10065, North Building, E. 68th St. The church also gathers online every Sunday morning at live.cbcnyc.org. History. The church was founded in  1847, 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. 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. "Tell It From Calvary" is a radio show that the church still produces weekly ; it is heard on WMCA AM 570. The most recent building is 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, Hall & Murdock, and the building was dedicated in 1931. The church's two Steinway grand pianos were donated to the church by pianist Van Cliburn, who attended periodically while living in the hotel. Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton have worshipped at Calvary. Billy Graham and Billy Sunday have  preached there. In early 2020, Calvary Baptist Church and the Salisbury Hotel closed so demolition could begin and make way for a new building. The new building is anticipated to break ground in 2021. After completion, the new office building will include a new space for the church. Until the 57th Street renovation is complete, Calvary will gather every Sunday at 10 a.m. at Assembly Hall on the Manhattan campus of Hunter College, located at 695 Park Ave, New York, NY 10065, North Building, E. 68th St. The church also gathers online every Sunday morning at live.cbcnyc.org. References. Notes Calvary