UPDATE: Paul Robeson Theater is Landmarked
Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission will vote on the proposal to designate Fort Greene’s Paul Robeson Theater, previously the St. Casimir’s Roman Catholic Church, a landmark. According to the LPC, “Alterations to the building appear to be few, including the removal of some stained-glass windows and painting of the facade, but nevertheless this early Brooklyn…
Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission will vote on the proposal to designate Fort Greene’s Paul Robeson Theater, previously the St. Casimir’s Roman Catholic Church, a landmark. According to the LPC, “Alterations to the building appear to be few, including the removal of some stained-glass windows and painting of the facade, but nevertheless this early Brooklyn church is a significant example of vernacular Gothic-style architecture and also an important reminder of the borough’s rich religious history.” Just this month DOB approved plans for remedial repair of the facade at 40 Greene Avenue. Update: The LPC voted to landmark the building. Click through for the designation report.
CB2 Gives OK To Landmark Paul Robeson Theater [Brownstoner]
LPC Considering Two Other Possible Landmarks [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB
From the LPC:
St. Casimir’s Roman Catholic Church, now the Paul Robeson Theater, 40 Greene Ave.
The brownstone building, originally named Church of the Redeemer, was constructed in 1864 by the Fourth Universalist Society at 40 Greene Ave. in
the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn. Its Rundbogenstil design, which derives from the Romanesque Revival style, is attributed to Rembrandt Lockwood, an artist who became an architect. Temple Israel, one of Brooklyn’s first Reform congregations, bought the building in 1870 and converted it into a synagogue. Twenty years later, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn purchased the sanctuary for the new home of St. Casimir’s, a growing Polish parish founded in 1875, and changed it back into a church, adding a steeple and an apse.
The centerpiece of the façade is a large arch holding a rose window and three smaller arched windows that’s flanked by two smaller arches framing stained-glass windows. The metal-clad steeple consists of a square tower, pinnacles, and octagonal spire and features round-arched openings with louvers, corbelling, rosettes, and crosses. After a drop in attendance, the church merged in 1980 with Our Lady of Czestochowa in South Brooklyn and put the building up for sale. The building was purchased that year by Dr. Josephine English, the first African-American woman licensed as an obstetrician/gynecologist in New York state and a community leader. She converted the building into a theater, naming it for the
legendary African-American actor Paul Robeson, and staging performances for and by African Americans.
“It’s an architecturally outstanding building that reflects a great deal of Brooklyn’s religious and cultural history,” said Chairman Tierney
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