[6] The present grand limestone edifice stands as testimony to both the growing affluence and confidence of the Catholic community on New York's Upper East Side near the start of the 20th century as well as the ambitious determination of Fr.

[5] During his time, Martin J. Scott, later a noted author of novels and controversial literature, worked as assistant priest among the young (1902-1915) and built a day nursery in 1910.

[2][10][11] St. Ignatius Loyola, A Pictorial History and Walking Guide of New York City's Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (1999) includes an exemplary description of the exterior and interior of the church: Two unbroken vertical orders, a Palladian arched window, and a tri-part horizontal division suggesting the central nave and side aisles beyond, lend a Classical balance to the Park Avenue exterior.

Yet St. Ignatius' façade is not static; the central division raised in slight relief beyond the side divisions and the varying intervals between the symmetrically positioned pilasters (columns that are not free standing) create a subtly undulating dynamism that introduces a note of syncopated rhythm reminiscent of the exterior of Il Gesù, the Jesuits' mother church in Rome.

[5] The marble mosaic Stations of the Cross panels were designed by Professor Paoletti for Salviati & Company of Venice; some were publicly exhibited in Turin before installation.

The baptistery font is of Carrara marble set above marble pavement designed "by Heaton, Butler & Bayne of London, with slight modifications made by Mr. John Buck of the Ecclesiastical Department of the Gorham Company of New York; the Gorham Company was also responsible for cutting and installing the mosaic's tesserae (the pieces comprising the mosaic)."

The baptistery's altar and surround curved walls are of Pavonazzo marble inlaid with mosaics, "designed and executed under the direction of Mr. Caryl Coleman of the Ecclesiastical Department of the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company.