Church of St. Ignatius Loyola

The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola was founded in 1851 as the Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole. Its first building, of Romanesque design, was built in 1854 on East 84th Street. In 1866, administration of the church was passed to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Three decades later, the church decided to build a new Gothic Revival church at the present location on Park Avenue, but only the lower church was completed in 1884. Plans for the upper church were changed to an Italian Renaissance-style basillica as designed by Schickel & Ditmars. The twin towers were to have four-tiered steeples, but this plan was never realized. Upon the completion of the new upper church in 1898, the Jesuits petitioned to have their founder, St. Ignatius Loyola, added as a co-patron of the parish. In 1969, the church was designated a New York City Landmark.

For more information, please visit official web site, or go to the following site:
http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/StIgnatiusLoyola.html