Church of the Holy Innocents
- Architect
- Frank Wills
- Year
- 1850
- Style
- Gothic Revival
- City
- Albany, NY
The former Church of the Holy Innocents, on North Pearl Street, was built in the mid-19th century as an Episcopal church in an early Gothic Revival style designed by Frank Wills, with a chapel added alongside it. A century after construction the Episcopal congregation moved to a newer church and sold the building to a Russian Orthodox congregation, which renamed it Church of the Nativity of our Virgin Lady and added an onion dome; that congregation has since moved out and the building stands vacant.
the building
Stained glass by John Bolton. The interior holds several stained glass windows designed by John Bolton, brother of William Jay Bolton, set within a small garden-surrounded complex that gives the urban church the feel of an English country parish church.
An added onion dome. When the building passed to a Russian Orthodox congregation a century after it was built, an onion dome was added to the original Gothic Revival design, layering a second architectural tradition onto Frank Wills's church.
the style
Frank Wills designed the church and chapel in an early Gothic Revival style, one of the earlier examples of the style applied to an American parish church.
More on Gothic Revivalthe architect
Frank Wills was the architect of the church and its adjacent chapel, working in an early Gothic Revival idiom.
significance
The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It has since passed from Episcopal to Russian Orthodox ownership and now stands vacant.
nearby
- Saint Joseph's Church
- Palace Theatre
- Union Station
- New York Court of Appeals Building
- St. Mary's Church
- Cathedral of All Saints