Islamic Cultural Center of New York, Mosque in Manhattan, USA
The Islamic Cultural Center of New York is a mosque in Manhattan that spans between 96th and 97th Streets, with a copper dome and a minaret reaching 130 feet (40 m) in height. The main prayer hall can hold 1,000 people and sits at an angle of 29 degrees from the street grid to face toward Mecca.
The center opened in 1991 and represented the first mosque built from the ground up in New York City. Funding came through contributions from 46 Muslim nations.
The center follows the tradition of communal prayer, with times determined by the position of the sun rather than the surrounding streets. This orientation creates a space that functions independently from the city grid and structures the daily rhythm of worshippers.
Visitors can see a large prayer hall without supporting columns, leaving the entire floor open. The architecture combines postmodern elements with traditional Islamic forms, visible in the dome and minaret.
Four intersecting steel trusses hold up the ceiling of the prayer hall, eliminating the need for columns that would block sightlines. Light enters through geometrically arranged glass panels and high window rows that brighten the space during the day.
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