Tabernacle Baptist Church, Baptist church building in East Village, Manhattan, US
Tabernacle Baptist Church occupies a fifteen-story building at 162-168 Second Avenue designed by Emery Roth in 1930. The structure combines religious function with modern skyscraper design, reflecting how churches adapted to urban density in Manhattan.
The Baptist congregation was founded in 1839 on Mulberry Street and moved to Second Avenue in 1850 under Reverend Edward Lathrop's leadership. The relocation reflected how religious institutions followed their growing immigrant populations to new neighborhoods.
The church became a gathering place for Italian, Polish, and Russian immigrants who created separate congregations within its walls. These communities found a space where they could maintain their languages and traditions together.
The former church building now serves as Warren Hall, though the Baptist Tabernacle inscription remains visible above the Second Avenue entrance. Visitors can view the exterior and locate the historical marker that identifies the building's religious past.
The building was redesigned as a skyscraper in 1930, showing how religious spaces adapted to Manhattan's vertical growth. This transformation from a traditional church to a modern office building remains an unusual example of such radical architectural change.
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