Church of the Guardian Angel

 Romanesque (architecture), interesting place, 1930_construction, Roman Catholic church

Roman-Catholic, Romanesque-style church completed in Chelsea in 1930. Designed by John V. Van Pelt, it is similar to Van Pelt's other churches in Manhattan and the Bronx, with a scalloped profile that seems to incorporate a bit of Moorish influence. The simple brick and limestone Southern Sicilian Romanesque facade merges with the Tuscan village forms of auxiliary buildings to the north in a well-related group. The exterior is embellished with remarkable bas reliefs, pillars and a deeply-hooded entrance. A large and complex rose window dominates the 10th Avenue façade. When the elevated tracks – later to be known as the High Line – were completed three years later, they came within mere feet of the chancel windows to the rear of the church. The parish was founded in 1888 to minister to workers at the bustling waterfront piers on the nearby Hudson River.

The main entrance faces the avenue, with a gated, low set of steps leading up to wooden double-doors with small square glass panes. The round-arch they are set in abound in intricate carvings, with biblical figures in a panel above, surrounded by lavish floral ornament. The sides of the doors are framed by a series of pillars supporting rows of various ornate moldings, and there additional carvings along the edges of the arch. Extending to either side are a row of columns with stylized capitals, between which are stone panels lined with intricate patterns, and a frieze on top extends on both directions, depicting scenes from the bible. On either side of the rose window above the main entrance is a narrow arched window. The gable on top is crowned by a simple cross.

The south facade on 21st Street has a stone basement level with single-windows, behind an areaway enclosed by iron fencing. There are two floors of round-arched windows above, with drip moldings and leaded glass. At the east end of the ground floor is another entrance with a paneled wooden door, and there is a similar door near the west end. The 2nd floor is set back a little from the ground floor, with a red tiled sloping roof in between. The westernmost window on the 2nd floor is larger than the others.

www.guardianangelchurch-nyc.org/
daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2010/12/train-tracks-cow...