The Hanson Place Central United Methodist Church is a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

in the

Fort Greene Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the w ...

neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, located on the northwest corner of Hanson Place and St. Felix Street, adjacent to the

Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, also known as One Hanson Place, is a skyscraper in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, New York. Located at the northeast corner of Ashland Place and Hanson Place near Downtown Br ...

. The church is the third Methodist church on the site. The present structure was built in 1929–1931, and its architectural style has been called "

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

restyled in modern dress, an exercise in massing brick and tan

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

that might be called cubistic

Art Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

." p.637 The church's street level features retail stores, and it is also listed as the headquarters for the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts or Boy Scout may refer to: * Members, sections or organisations in the Scouting Movement ** Scout (Scouting), a boy or a girl participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America ...

in Brooklyn. As of 2010, Hanson Place Central hosts a midday inspirational service for all members of the

downtown Brooklyn Downtown Brooklyn is the third-largest central business district in New York City (after Midtown Manhattan, Midtown and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighb ...

community daily at 12 noon. They work to engage all members of their surrounding community. They also have a food pantry open to the public in need. The structure is now abandoned, covered in scaffolding and filled with black mold and dust on the inside. The church is located within the Brooklyn Academy of Music Historic District, which was created in 1978 by the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...

History

The first Methodist church on the site was erected in 1857 on land purchased the year before; prior to that the land had been part of a farm, and then passed through a number of hands after the farm was sub-divided. The Hanson Place Methodist Church, which could accommodate 800 people and had a Sunday school in the basement, was dedicated on January 3, 1858. A new Sunday school building was constructed in 1860, and a parsonage in 1863. By 1872 a larger church was required, which started construction in 1873 and was dedicated on January 4, 1874.

br>"Brooklyn Academy of Music Historic District Designation Report"
(September 26, 1978) In 1927, the Hanson Place church merged with the Summerfield Methodist Church and the Fleet Street Methodist Church to create the Central Methodist Episcopal Church. The new combined congregation planned on building a new church, and purchased a site for it, but when the 1874 building was condemned by the Department of Buildings as unsafe for occupation due to damage done by subway construction underneath it, the parish decided instead to replace the condemned building and keep the church on the same site. The Church built again on the same site and the architecturally significant church was completed in 1931. The architecture firm of Halsey, McCormick, and Helmer designed the Modern Gothic/Art Moderne style church, as well as the adjacent landmarked Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower. The new, red-brick, Gothic revival structure has a base of granite and is trimmed with stone of a color lighter than the brick. The facade is dominated by the double entry doors within a Gothic arch, and myriad symbolic carvings.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson Place Central Methodist Church 1857 establishments in New York (state) 19th-century Methodist church buildings in the United States Churches completed in 1930 Methodist churches in New York City Churches in Brooklyn Former churches in New York City Fort Greene, Brooklyn