Lost Small Churches of the North Shore: Calvary Chapel, aka Olivet Presbyterian Church

Calvary Chapel, ca.1940

   There were numerous immigrant Protestant outreach chapels across Staten Island back at the beginning of the 20th century (more on some of them later). The most numerous I've come across were the ministries aimed at Italians. The Methodists had a chapel in Mariner's Harbor, the Espicopalians had one in Port Richmond, and the Presbyterians had two I'm aware of; one in Rosebank and another in West New Brighton.

   It was founded as Calvary Chapel, an outreach of Calvary Church (still there on Bement and Castleton). In 1913, Joseph De Rogatis, aided by his wife Emma, started preaching in West New Brighton. By 1917, there were enough congregants to warrant building a chapel on West Street between Castelton and Cary Avenues.

   By the thirties, the church had grown so much that they built an education wing with a WPA grant. In 1946 they became a completely separate congregation and adopted the name they still bear; Olivet Presbyterian Church. According to a 1950 Advance article, adult services in English weren't started until 1948. In the mid-fifties, they began building the current church on Broadway and Myrtle. The old West Street chapel was replaced by the currently abandoned Whitney Young Day Care Center. 

   The church maintains a detailed history on its website.

1937 Insurance Map showing "Calvary Chapel Italian Presbyterian Church"

Olivet Presbyterian Church in all its modernist 1960's Protestant glory - pic. 2019

Lost Small Churches of the North Shore: the Hoyt Avenue Church

 

Immanuel Congregational Church of Staten Island, aka the Hoyt Avenue Church

   The idea for these posts came while doing a little research with the 1936 insurance maps of the North Shore and I saw that this church once existed, only a few blocks from my house. I had never heard of it. Coupled with a few other small churches long lost to history, I hope to make several of these posts over the next week or two.

   According to an article in the Advance, the church started as two separate groups: a house church composed of 14 Swedes that met in a mission house on Westervelt Avenue and an adult Sunday school that met in the old Masonic hall in Port Richmond. In 1917 the two groups merged as the Swedish Immanuel Church of Staten Island. It was affiliated with the Swedish Covenant Church, an evangelical church. Later it was renamed the Immanuel Congregational Church of Staten Island. Finally, to avoid confusing it with other churches named Immanuel, it became known simply as the Hoyt Avenue Church.

   In 1974, just before a series of renovations were to take place, a fire broke out during a wedding rehearsal. The fire spread and all the windows were destroyed and the roof collapsed. The congregation eventually voted to disband. Later, the property was sold and houses were built in the church's place.

Hoyt Avenue Church 60th Anniversary Bulletin

   Here's the church's 60th-anniversary bulletin. Clicking on the link below will let you read the entire contents. It's a great snapshot of mid-fifties church life; the hymns, the exciting dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, and frozen peas, and the speeches. It's also a nice reminder of a time when packs of wild Scandinavians roamed freely on the North Shore.

Hoyt and Delafield - 2012