New York Landmarks Conservency
Common Bond

Church of Our Lady of the Scapular and St. Stephen

This Romanesque Revival-style church, built in 1854 to the designs of architect James Renwick, Jr., is an example of robust architecture that set the pace for the Victorian Romanesque. Equally important is the church's painted interior decorative scheme that was executed after the Civil War by the renowned artist, Constantine Brumidi (1805-1880), considered the last master of the Italian Baroque tradition. Renwick's strongly articulated tripartite composition inventively employs a lively pattern of repetitive round-arched motifs derived from the mature German Romanesque cathedrals.

Inside, plastered cast-iron columns with elaborate foliated capitals support multi-ribbed vaulting. The nave is lit by over 100 figurative painted stained glass windows by Meyer of Munich installed in the 1860s. After completing over $1 million in roofing and waterproofing work in the last year, the parish is now planning the conservation of the interior.The church is nationally significant for its decorative scheme commissioned in 1866 from Brumidi, consisting of a huge mural of the Crucifixion over the High Altar, forty-five murals and paintings around the walls, and a scheme of architectural illusion, called trompe l'oeil.Brumidi is renowned for his extensive murals in the U.S. Capitol that were recently restored.

The grand conception for the interior at St. Stephen's is a rare surviving example of Brumidi's work in churches. Initial probes by conservator Constance Silver of Preservar indicate that the overpainted trompe l'oeil scheme can be reclaimed. The urgency of conservation treatments for the flaking wall paintings has spurred the parish to begin a pilot project this summer with internally raised funds that will restore the100-foot entry. A conservation plan will also be developed for the interior painting and stained glass.

The building is located at 149 East 28th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, in the Gramercy Park area of Manhattan. The sanctuary is normally open to the public for an hour before and an hour after each daily Mass (Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.; Saturday 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.; and on Sundays from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.). For additional information, call the Parish Office at (212) 683-1675.