The Roman Catholic church, St. Malachy’s was founded close to Times Square in New York in 1902.  The community that lives and works surrounding Times Square has changed much throughout the last hundred years, and although it is quite an eclectic and unusual mix of people and of business, the church has always remained involved in the goings of the neighborhood and the people.  By the beginning of the 1920′s, the area had begun the transformation into the bustling center of the theater district.

The priests at that time noticed the change in the population as their pews began to fill up with dancers, musicians, actors and craftsman of the theater world the tourists that were drawn to the city for the theater and staying in the best of the hotels in New York City.  Not long afterward, the priests began to tailor their services to meet the needs of those in the show business world, holding masses at times that would accommodate the theater crowds schedules.  They built a special chapel, called the Actors’ Chapel, and this began the place of worship for many in the community of the entertainment world.  Over the years there have been many famous actors that have been married in the church, that have had their children baptized there and it is the church in the city that held memorial services for those in the entertainment world who have passed away.

However, when Madison Square Garden moved, the neighbor began to change into a seedy and somewhat dangerous part of town, quickly becoming filled with pornographic shops and venues, drugs and prostitution.  The actors moved away, and the tourists became afraid of the area and stayed away.  The church suffered greatly in this time, and theft and vandalism began to occur on a weekly basis.  The city and community organizations came together to refurbish the church and to help those that still remained living there, and in the last few years the area is once again an incredibly vibrant spot in New York.

Related posts:

1. There’s Still Pristine Forest in New York City
2. Remember New York
3. Five Thousand Years of Art in New York
4. Saint Malo and the Legends

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 11:43 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.