St John the Baptist

St John the Baptist, Brooklyn NY

This massive church was built in 1888 as the jewel of St John ‘s University’s first home in Brooklyn. It was designed in a Romanesque revival style by preeminent religious property architect Patrick Keely.

In Recent years, Saint John the Baptist was served as neighbor parish church but was not a welcoming sight. The building was in extremely poor condition, with leaks at the roof, rusty and decayed sheet metal elements, boarded-up windows, and rotted wood window frames.

This project, completed over 11 years, has dramatically improved the handsome façade. All stonework was cleaned, repaired, and repointed There are new Roofs. An eight-foot-tall decorative frieze that runs along the entire building, and the cornices, gables, pinnacles, and gutters were replaced in lead-coated copper exactly matching the original. Stained-glass windows were restored with new hardwood outer frames and new protective glazing. The glorious 22-foot diameter rose window, which could not be restored, was replaced using laser-cut, solid mahogany components to replicate the original design. Once a worrisome eyesore, the church is once again a beacon to its community.