The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has designated three properties tied to the city’s immigration history as individual landmarks: the Public School 15 Annex at 372 Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn, the Church of Saint Mary at 440 Grand Street on the Lower East Side, and the Lithuanian Alliance Building at 307 West 30th Street in Chelsea. The designations recognize buildings associated with immigrant communities that helped shape New York City, from Irish and other Catholic newcomers on the Lower East Side to Lithuanian Americans in Manhattan and a broad mix of first- and second-generation families in Brooklyn.
In Brooklyn, the Public School 15 Annex was completed in 1889 and designed by architect James Naughton in a Romanesque Revival style with Queen Anne details. Originally built as an extension of Public School 15, the building later housed the Brooklyn Girls’ Continuation School, which established its headquarters there in 1927. The school provided vocational and academic instruction to teenage girls, many from immigrant households, in fields including garment manufacturing, nursing, bookkeeping, homemaking, and beauty work, while also supporting continuing education requirements tied to child labor reforms.
Photograph of Public School 15 Annex, courtesy of LPC.
The Church of Saint Mary, completed in 1833, is described as the oldest Roman Catholic church building on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and the home of Manhattan’s third-oldest Catholic parish, founded in 1826. Built after the destruction of the parish’s earlier home, the church later expanded through work by architects Patrick Charles Keely and Lawrence J. O’Connor.
Photograph of the Church of Saint Mary, courtesy of LPC.
Photograph of the Church of Saint Mary, courtesy of LPC.
In Chelsea, the Lithuanian Alliance Building dates to 1876-77 and has served since 1910 as the headquarters of the Lithuanian Alliance of America, a fraternal organization established to support Lithuanian immigrants through financial assistance and cultural programming. The building also housed the printing operations of the weekly newspaper Tevynė for decades and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
Photograph of the Lithuanian Alliance Building, courtesy of LPC.
“New York City’s history is the history of immigration, and the three landmarks designated today provide a tangible connection to places that helped communities establish roots and create lasting opportunities,” said Landmarks Preservation Commission executive director Lisa Kersavage. “The designation of these architecturally distinctive buildings are part of the Commission’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that our landmarks tell the story of all New Yorkers.”
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The LPC should be making these landmark announcements every month. It’s about time they do their job as we continue to lose our beautiful, historic buildings year after year.
there are so many more historic structures they can save. A wooden home in Fort Greene is set for demolition. These developers are paying off someone.