Church of Sweden in New York

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Church of Sweden, New York
Swedish Seamen's Church
Svenska kyrkan i New York
The church in 2024
Church of Sweden, New York
40°45′26″N 73°58′39″W / 40.757142124°N 73.9774614°W / 40.757142124; -73.9774614
Location	5 East 48th Street, Midtown Manhattan, New York City
Country	United States
Denomination	Church of Sweden
Architecture
Completed	1921 (105 years ago) (1921)

Church of Sweden in New York (Swedish: Svenska kyrkan i New York; also known as the Swedish Seamen's Church) is a Church of Sweden church at 5 East 48th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is a parish of the Church of Sweden Abroad. Dating to 1921, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.^[1]

The church is currently open Wednesday to Sunday. A library and reading room (featuring a memorial plaque to Raoul Wallenberg) is located on the first floor, while the chapel, sacristy and children's room is on the second floor. The chapel's organ dates to 1986, the work of Torshälla's Walter Thür.^[2]^[3]^[4] The uppermost floors are private residences and a rooftop terrace.

History

Demand for the founding of a Swedish church came about after around 1.4 million Swedes arrived on American shores between 1820 and 1900.^[5] Swedish immigrants found solace in churches earlier than this one, where they could keep up with news from their homeland, collect and send mail and enjoy refreshments.^[2]

The current church building was originally built on the site of a modest brownstone constructed in 1873. In April 1921, ^[6] a year after a donation of around $250,000 from Henrietta E. Francis Talcott, a Gothic style edifice appeared in its place. The building was dedicated as a home for the New York Bible Society. The donor was the wife of textile merchant turned millionaire James Talcott, who died in 1916 at the age of 86. The new building was the work of architect Wilfred E. Anthony (1878–1948).^[2]^[7] Henrietta died in December 1921, aged 79; it is not known whether she got to see the finished building.

On March 31, 1978, the Church of Sweden Abroad bought the property from the New York Bible Society for $570,000.^[2] The air rights were sold in 1981 for $1 million and paid off the debt.^[7]

The song "Christmas in New York" was written by Billy Butt on the church's piano in 1979.^[8]

Chapel, 2025
Organ, 2025

References

↑ New York Bible Society – NPGallery Digital Asset Management System, National Park Service
1 2 3 4 "THE HIDDEN COFFEE SHOP IN THE SWEDISH SEAMENS CHURCH IN MIDTOWN" – Untapped New York
↑ Walter Thür Orgelbyggen (1986) – Pipe Organ Database
↑ Svenska Kyrkan (Swedish Seamen's Church) – The New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
↑ History – Church of Sweden in New York official website
↑ "NY Bible Society in New Home". The Long Islander. April 15, 1921. p. 11.
1 2 The House at 5 East 48th Street – Church of Sweden in New York official website
↑ "Julen är här" (PDF) (in Swedish). Svenska sång- och talpedagogförbundet. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 24, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.

External links

Official website

Midtown (42nd–59th Streets)

Manhattan, New York City

Buildings

West of
5th Av

Rockefeller Center	1 Rockefeller Plz 10 Rockefeller Plz 30 Rockefeller Plz 50 Rockefeller Plz 75 Rockefeller Plz 1211 6th Av 1221 6th Av 1251 6th Av 1271 6th Av British Empire Building International Building La Maison Francaise
Times Square	1 Astor Plz 1 Times Sq 3 Times Sq 4 Times Sq 11 Times Sq 20 Times Sq 229 W 43rd St 255 W 43rd St 1500 Broadway 1501 Broadway 1540 Broadway 1552 Broadway 1585 Broadway TSX Broadway

East of
5th Av

Former

Theaters

Broadway theaters	Ambassador August Wilson Belasco Bernard B. Jacobs Booth Broadhurst Broadway Circle in the Square Ethel Barrymore Eugene O'Neill Gerald Schoenfeld Gershwin Hayes Hudson Imperial James Earl Jones John Golden Lena Horne Longacre Lunt-Fontanne Lyceum Lyric Majestic Marquis Minskoff Music Box Neil Simon Palace Richard Rodgers St. James Samuel J. Friedman Shubert Stephen Sondheim Studio 54 Todd Haimes Walter Kerr Winter Garden
Other venues	55th Street Playhouse Carnegie Hall Ed Sullivan Theater The ImaginAsian New Victory Theater New York City Center Paris Theater Radio City Music Hall Sony Hall The Theater Center The Town Hall York Theatre
Closed/demolished	44th Street 48th Street Apollo Center Capitol Earl Carroll Edison Embassy Fulton George M. Cohan's Loew's State Lyric New Century Olympia Playhouse Roxy Strand Times Square Vanderbilt Victoria Ziegfeld (1927) Ziegfeld (1969)

Hotels

Current

Former

Other points of interest

Restaurants/ nightlife	21 Club 54 Below Alto Anthos Aureole Burger Heaven Le Bernardin Cafe Chambord Campbell Apartment La Caravelle Caviar Russe Del Pezzo Restaurant Ellen's Stardust Diner Four Twenty Five Gabriel Kreuther Gallagher's Steakhouse Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant La Grenouille Iridium Jazz Club Le Jardinier Jōji King Cole Bar Kurumazushi Latin Quarter Lespinasse Marea Naro The Pool and the Grill Oceana The Original Soupman P. J. Clarke's Patsy's Le Pavillon Prime Burger The Quilted Giraffe Rainbow Room Restaurant Aquavit Rumpelmayer's Russian Tea Room Sardi's Satsuki Shun Lee Palace Stage Deli The Campbell The Modern The Royal Box
Museums/ cultural centers	Austrian Cultural Forum New York Girl Scout Museum and Archives John M. Mossman Lock Museum Korean Cultural Center New York Madame Tussauds New York Museum of Arts and Design Museum of Broadway Museum of Modern Art New York Transit Museum Paley Center for Media Rose Museum Spyscape
Stores	Argosy Book Store Gotham Book Mart
Clubhouses	American Fine Arts Society The Brook Century Association Cornell Club of New York General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York Harvard Club of New York City New York Athletic Club New York City Bar Association New York Friars Club New York Yacht Club Penn Club of New York Racquet and Tennis Club University Club of New York Women's National Republican Club Yale Club of New York City
Clubhouses (former)	Princeton Club of New York
Green spaces	Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden Central Park Grand Army Plaza Greenacre Park Paley Park
Educational institutions	53rd Street Library Circle in the Square Theatre School CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies High School of Performing Arts Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School for International Careers Saint Thomas Choir School SUNY College of Optometry
Art galleries	Galerie St. Etienne Rehs Galleries

Transportation

Subway stations	Fifth Avenue/53rd Street Fifth Avenue–59th Street Seventh Avenue 42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center 49th Street 50th Street 50th Street 57th Street–Seventh Avenue 57th Street 59th Street–Columbus Circle Grand Central–42nd Street Lexington Avenue/51st Street Lexington Avenue/59th Street Times Square–42nd Street
Railroad stations	Grand Central Madison Grand Central Terminal
Streets and intersections	Third Avenue Fifth Avenue Sixth Avenue Six and a Half Avenue Seventh Avenue Eighth Avenue 42nd 47th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th 55th 57th 58th 59th Broadway Columbus Circle Duffy Square Grand Army Plaza George Abbott Way Lexington Avenue Madison Avenue Park Avenue Park Avenue Viaduct Pershing Square Shubert Alley Times Square Vanderbilt Avenue

Related topics
Billionaires' Row Little Brazil Midtown South Minnesota Strip

See also: Manhattan Community Board 5

National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan

Historic districts

Cemeteries
African Burial Ground National Monument First Shearith Israel Graveyard Harlem African Burial Ground New York City Marble Cemetery New York Marble Cemetery Trinity Church Cemetery

Clubhouses

Commercial buildings

Office buildings	1 Broadway 1 Hanover Square 1 Wall Street Court 108 Leonard 116 John Street 23 Wall Street 254–260 Canal Street 330 West 42nd Street 361 Broadway 40 Wall Street 48 Wall Street 488 Madison Avenue 49 Chambers 56 Pine Street 63 Wall Street 90 West Street American Radiator Building Bayard–Condict Building Bell Laboratories Building Broad Exchange Building Candler Building Cary Building Century Building Chamber of Commerce Building Chanin Building Chrysler Building Church Missions House Corbin Building Daily News Building Decker Building Empire Building Empire State Building Equitable Building Film Center Building Flatiron Building Fred F. French Building General Electric Building House of the New York City Bar Association Lee, Higginson & Company Bank Building Lever House Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower New York County Lawyers' Association Building New York Evening Post Building New York Life Building Old New York Evening Post Building Park Row Building Puck Building Rockefeller Center Schermerhorn Row Block Scribner Building Seagram Building W New York Union Square Woolworth Building
Drinking establishments	Fraunces Tavern Julius Minton's Playhouse Stonewall Inn
Stores, other commercial	170–176 John Street 280 Broadway 287 Broadway 452 Fifth Avenue 55 Wall Street 75 Murray Street American Bank Note Company Building American Stock Exchange Building Apple Bank Building Bank of the Metropolis Barclay–Vesey Building Bowery Savings Bank Building Chelsea Market David S. Brown Store De Vinne Press Building E. V. Haughwout Building Greenwich Savings Bank Building Kitchen, Montross & Wilcox Store Lincoln Building Macy's Herald Square Metropolitan Savings Bank Building Mount Morris Bank Building New York Amsterdam News Building New York Savings Bank Building New York Stock Exchange Building Park and Tilford Building R. C. Williams Warehouse Robbins & Appleton Building Schermerhorn Building Sheffield Farms Stable Tiffany and Company Building United Charities Building Van Tassell and Kearney Horse Auction Mart

Educational buildings

Colleges and schools	Barnard Hall Brown Building City College Quadrangle Claremont Riding Academy Cooper Union Earl Hall Founder's Hall Fourteenth Ward Industrial School Marymount School of New York Milbank, Brinckerhoff, and Fiske Halls New York School of Applied Design for Women P.S. 9 P.S. 135 P.S. 157 Philosophy Hall Pupin Hall St. Walburga's Academy Union Theological Seminary
Libraries	115th Street Library General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York Hamilton Grange Library Jefferson Market Library Low Memorial Library Morgan Library & Museum New York Public Library Main Branch New York Society Library Ottendorfer Public Library and Stuyvesant Polyclinic Hospital Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Yorkville Library

Government buildings

Post office buildings	Canal Street Station Church Street Station Cooper Station Inwood Station James A. Farley Building Knickerbocker Station Lenox Hill Station Madison Square Station Old Chelsea Station
Courthouse	Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State Harlem Courthouse Surrogate's Courthouse Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse Tweed Courthouse
Other governmental	1st Police Precinct Station House 240 Centre Street Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Blackwell Island Light Block House New York City Hall City Pier A Federal Hall Federal Office Building Federal Reserve Bank of New York Building Firehouse, Engine Company 31 Firehouse, Engine Company 33 and Ladder Company 9 Gracie Mansion Harlem Fire Watchtower Little Red Lighthouse Manhattan Municipal Building Municipal Asphalt Plant

Hospital buildings
City Hospital Gouverneur Health Mount Sinai Morningside The Octagon R & S Building Smallpox Hospital Society for the Lying-In Hospital Strecker Memorial Laboratory

Hotel buildings
Barbizon 63 The Chatwal New York George Washington Hotel Gilsey House Grand Hotel Hotel Albert Hotel Chelsea Hotel Gerard Hotel Seville NoMad Hotel Theresa The Knickerbocker Hotel Martinique Hotel Plaza Hotel Times Square Hotel Webster Hotel Westchester House

Military facilities
69th Regiment Armory 369th Regiment Armory Castle Clinton Castle Williams First Battery Armory Fort Jay Fort Washington Avenue Armory Park Avenue Armory Fort Washington

Museums and memorials

Parks and recreation
Asser Levy Recreation Center Bowling Green Bryant Park Central Park Duffy Square Fort Tryon Park Governors Island National Monument Greenacre Park Marcus Garvey Park Riverside Park Statue of Liberty National Monument Union Square Verdi Square

Religious buildings

Churches

Synagogues

Residential buildings

Houses

Apartments,
other residential

Theatres
Apollo Theater Beacon Theatre Bouwerie Lane Theatre Carnegie Hall Ed Sullivan Theater Hudson Theatre New Amsterdam Theatre New York City Center The Public Theater Radio City Music Hall Samuel J. Friedman Theatre The Town Hall Village East by Angelika

Transportation

Bridges and tunnels	Brooklyn Bridge High Bridge Holland Tunnel Joralemon Street Tunnel Manhattan Bridge New York Central Railroad 69th Street Transfer Bridge Park Avenue Viaduct Queensboro Bridge Washington Bridge
Railway and subway stations	14th Street–Union Square 28th Street 28th Street 33rd Street 59th Street–Columbus Circle 72nd Street 79th Street 86th Street Cathedral Parkway–110th Street 116th Street–Columbia University 125th Street 145th Street 168th Street 181st Street 181st Street 190th Street Astor Place Bleecker Street Bowling Green Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall/Chambers Street Chambers Street City Hall Dyckman Street Grand Central Terminal Times Square–42nd Street Wall Street West Fourth Street–Washington Square
Substations	Dyckman-Hillside Substation Substation 7 Substation 219 Strecker Memorial Laboratory
Ships	Admiral Dewey Ambrose Circle Line X Frying Pan Intrepid John J. Harvey Lettie G. Howard Lilac Shearwater W. O. Decker Wavertree Yankee
Others	Battery Maritime Building City Pier A Pier 57

Others
Columbus Monument Croton Aqueduct Gate House Giuseppe Verdi Monument Space Shuttle Enterprise

Former
Florence Mills House

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan (Islands, Below 14th St., 14th–59th Sts., 59th–110th Sts., Above 110th St.) and List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City
Note: National Historic Landmarks are not listed separately.