Church of the Heavenly Rest

File:(King1893NYC) pg357 CHURCH OF THE HEAVENLY REST, PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL, FIFTH AVENUE.jpg

The church was founded in 1865 (officially established in 1868) by American Civil War veterans, with the assistance of the Reverend Robert Shaw Howland. It was meant as a memorial to soldiers who had died in the Civil War. By 1900, the church had amassed close to 1000 members. The church was originally located on Fifth Avenue and 45th Street before moving to its present site.

The land for the current site was sold to the church in 1926 by Louise Whitfield Carnegie, Andrew Carnegie's widow. Carnegie purchased the site in 1917 for $1.7 million shortly after a sign was erected reading "for sale without restrictions"; his ownership prevented apartment house development there that would intrude on his mansion's surroundings, but the site remained undeveloped with only a few billboards and a lemonade stand on one of the city's most expensive addresses. Its subsequent sale to the church carried the restrictions that the land could only be used "for a Christian church no higher than 75 feet, exclusive of steeple" through 1975.Gray, Christopher. New York Streetscapes: Tales of Manhattan's Significant Buildings and Landmarks. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003), p. 280.

The limestone church was designed in the neo-Gothic style by the firm Mayers, Murray & Phillip, successors to Bertram Goodhue. Goodhue died before the first stone was laid. Mayers, Murray & Phillip took over construction.{{cite web| url=http://www.nyc-architecture.com/UES/UES117.htm | title=New York Architecture Images: Church of the Heavenly Rest | access-date=2008-12-17}} It opened on Easter 1929, seating 1,050, at a cost of $3.2 million. Sculpture was to be executed by Malvina Hoffman, Lee Lawrie, and other artists. The architecture and sculpture combined neo-Gothic styles with Art deco details.{{cite web | url=http://www.heavenlyrest.org/html/mission.html | title=Church of the Heavenly Rest: Our History and Mission | access-date=2008-12-17 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125121244/http://heavenlyrest.org/html/mission.html | archive-date=2009-01-25 | url-status=dead }} However, over two-thirds of the sculptural program was never executed; sculptor Janet Scudder withdrew from a commission in 1928 after it was downsized. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 ended other work, and the blocky limestone facade was retained without sculpture.Gray, Christopher. New York Streetscapes: Tales of Manhattan's Significant Buildings and Landmarks. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003), p. 282.

Innovative design features included unobstructed views of the altar, indirect lighting and a high-tech sound system. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.{{NRHPweekly}}

The church has a number of choirs, including boys' and girls', a mixed adult choir, and a bell choir. For its patronal feast, which is All Saints' Day, the hymns "For All the Saints" and "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God" are commonly sung.

The funeral of Chester A. Arthur, former President of the United States, was held at the church in 1886,{{cite book | last = Reeves | first = Thomas C. | title = Gentleman Boss | url = https://archive.org/details/gentlemanbosslif00reev | url-access = registration | publisher = Alfred A. Knopf | year = 1975 | location = New York, New York| page = [https://archive.org/details/gentlemanbosslif00reev/page/418 418] | isbn = 0-394-46095-2}} and the ashes of the actress Gloria Swanson were interred there in 1983.{{cite book|last=Donnelley|first=Paul|title=Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries|publisher=Omnibus|year=2003|pages=887|isbn=0-7119-9512-5}}

The following have served as Rectors of the Church of the Heavenly Rest:[https://www.heavenlyrest.org/institution-of-the-rev-kate-malin-livestream Church of the Heavenly Rest, Institution of the Rev. Kate Malin, leaflet]. November 14, 2024. Retrieved November 15, 2024.

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• 1865−1887: Rev. Robert Shaw Howland
• 1887−1907: Rev. Parker Morgan
• 1907−1921: Rev. Herbert Shipman
• 1922−1949: Rev. Henry Darlington
• 1950−1961: Rev. John Ellis Large
• 1962−1974: Rev. Burton Thomas
• 1975−1982: Rev. Alanson Bigelow Houghton
• 1983−1995: Rev. Hugh Hildesley
• 1996−2011: Rev. James Lee Burns
• 2013−2023: Rev. Matthew Heyd
• 2024–present: Rev. Katherine Malin

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Two of the Rectors, Herbert Shipman and Matthew Heyd, left the Church of the Heavenly Rest to become Bishop of New York.

The church is featured in a scene in the 1997 film The Devil's Advocate starring Keanu Reeves. In the film, Kevin finds his wife Mary Ann sitting on a bench in the church, where she reveals her naked body to be covered in cuts and bruises, accusing Milton (Satan) of raping her.{{cite web |url=http://onthesetofnewyork.com/thedevilsadvocate.html |title=The Devil's Advocate Film Locations |website=On The Set of New York}}

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• {{Official website|http://www.heavenlyrest.org}}

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{{Coord|40.7837|N|73.958|W|display=title}}

Category:1865 establishments in New York (state)

Category:20th-century Episcopal church buildings

Category:Anglican organizations established in the 19th century

Category:Churches in Manhattan

Category:Churches completed in 1929

Category:Episcopal church buildings in New York City

Category:Episcopal Diocese of New York

Category:Fifth Avenue

Category:Gothic Revival church buildings in New York City

Category:Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan

Category:Religious organizations established in 1865

Category:Upper East Side

Category:Presidential churches in the United States