<P> The church was founded in 1865 (officially established in 1868) by American Civil War veterans, with the assistance of the Reverend Robert Shaw Howland . It was meant as a memorial to soldiers who had died in the American Civil War . By 1900, the church had amassed close to 1000 members . The church was originally located on Fifth Avenue and 46th Street before moving to its present site . </P> <P> The land for the current site was sold to the church in 1926 by Louise Whitfield Carnegie, Andrew Carnegie's widow . Carnegie purchased the site in 1917 for $1.7 million shortly after a sign was erected reading "for sale without restrictions", his ownership prevented apartment house development there that would intrude on his mansion's surroundings, but the site remained undeveloped with only a few billboards and a lemonade stand on one of the city's most expensive addresses . Its subsequent sale to the church carried the restrictions that the land could only be used "for a Christian church no higher than 75 feet, exclusive of steeple" through 1975 . </P> <P> The limestone church was designed in the neo-Gothic style by the firm Mayers, Murray & Phillip, successors to Bertram Goodhue . Goodhue died before the first stone was laid . Mayers Murray & Phillip took over construction . It opened Easter Sunday 1929, seating 1,050, at a cost of $3.2 million . Sculpture was to be executed by Malvina Hoffman, Lee Lawrie, and other artists . The architecture and sculpture combined Neo-Gothic styles with Art deco details . However, over two - thirds of the sculptural program was never executed; sculptor Janet Scudder withdrew from a commission in 1928 after it was downsized . The Stock Market Crash of 1929 ended other work and the blocky limestone facade was retained without sculpture . </P> <P> Innovative design features included unobstructed views of the altar, indirect lighting and a high - tech sound system . </P>

Church of the heavenly rest new york ny