St. John's Episcopal Church (Jersey City, New Jersey)

[1][2] Erected in 1870, the Gothic Revival-influenced building was designed by John Remson Onderdonk, a local architect and practitioner of the ecclesiological philosophy, and is considered to be a masterpiece of 19th-century ecclesiastic architecture by the city's landmarks conservancy.

From 1960 to 1968 the church was a center of the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements during the rectorship of the Reverend Robert W. Castle who preached a social gospel and drew attention to the plight of the city's poor.

[13][14] When it appeared that the diocese was moving to demolish the building, a campaign was begun to convince the city council to re-visit the issue[15] which it did in June 2013 and adopted a measure granting landmark status.

The Jersey Landmarks Conservancy, a preservation group, believes that the Diocese of Newark has intentionally neglected the building in order to demolish it.

[17][21] In 2015 it was decided to convert the property to residential spaces, including construction of new buildings and conversion of the church.