St. Bernard's Church, West 14th Street, New York City

Created after the building's dedication in May 1875, this print presents a street view of a grand new church with two towers (topped with conical turrets) flanking a facade with a rose window inset in a pointed arch above a triple-portal entrance. Some pedestrians are on the sidewalk beside the church. while others are crossing the street at the lower right, near two horseback riders. Built in the Gothic Revival style between 1872 and 1875 for a congregation of mostly Irish immigrants and their descendants, St. Bernard's Church ranked among the most important Catholic parishes in New York City. In 1868, Archbishop John McCloskey had assigned Reverend Gabriel A. Healy to form a parish for the growing Irish population living in the Greenwich Village and Chelsea neighborhoods. Rev. Healy went on to raise the funds needed to erect this church on West 14th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues). Designed by the Irish-born American architect Patrick C. Keely (1816–1896), who designed nearly 600 church buildings in North America, St. Bernard's blended English and French Gothic influences. In its day, many regarded it as an exceptional example of ecclesiastical architecture. It became the site for many fashionable wedding ceremonies and funerals of noted New Yorkers.

In late December 1890, a massive fire consumed St. Bernard's Church -- destroying its interior, roof, and tower spires. Within a year, however, the church was rebuilt (apart from the church spires atop the towers), largely due to efforts of Rev. Healy, who resumed religious services for his congregation of 10,000 worshippers. In the early twentieth century, as the neighborhood changed, the size of the congregation diminished while the neighborhing parish of

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church (for Spanish-speaking Catholics) grew. In 2003, St. Bernard's parish closed after it merged with Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Although the interior is much altered today, the church building remains at 328 West 14th Street in Manhattan. The facade of the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Saint Bernard (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en San Bernardo) is much like the one depicted in this print (albeit without the turret spires); today, the building itself is wedged between low-story urban buildings.