On Tuesday, January 22nd, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted to calendar The First Hungarian Reformed Church at 346 East 69th Street for potential Individual Landmark designation. The church is considered to be a striking example of 20th century vernacular church design, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

This church was designed by prolific New York City architect and Austro-Hungarian immigrant Emery Roth in the Secessionist Style and built from 1915-1916. The building was commissioned by the Elsö Magyar Református Templom congregation that was comprised of Hungarian immigrants and their families and the same congregation is active at the church today. If designated, this would be the only Emery Roth-designed religious property to be landmarked.

At Tuesday’s meeting, LPC Chair Sarah Carroll said that the agency’s research staff has been focused on examining the immigrant history of Yorkville and that the First Hungarian Reformed Church is a highly intact and rare extant reminder of the neighborhood’s Hungarian legacy.