Church of the Heavenly Rest by ajamess

Ario and I stopped here on our way to the Met, after visiting a troubling Italian Futurism exhibit at the Guggenheim. This beautiful building stood in stark contrast to a lot of the ugliness that the Futurist movement seemed to portray and glorify. Some history: "On May 18, 1868, the church was formally established as the Church of the Heavenly Rest, the name chosen as a memorial to the fallen soldiers of the Civil War. Construction commenced on a church building at 551 Fifth Avenue, in what was then a residential area, just north of 45th Street and close to bustling Grand Central Terminal. Though it was described in King’s Handbook of New York City (1892) as “one of the fashionable shrines of the city,” CHR also won a reputation for benevolence. As early as 1890 the church opened a soup kitchen for the poor, and during the desolate winters of 1915 and 1916 it was known nationwide for providing meals, shelter, and job referrals to the needy." via 500px http://j.mp/1siRb2V