In 1857, the German Redemptorists, who served the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, purchased the estate of broker and banker Nathaniel Prime.

They agreed and referred this request to John McCloskey, the Archbishop of New York, who authorized the establishment of the Parish of St. Joseph.

In December 1880, Redemptorist Father Joseph Helmpraecht organized a school at the orphanage that also served the children of the parish.

The school day began at 8:00 A.M., with students in fourth through eighth grades attending daily Mass, where they sang Gregorian Chant.

Among various other improvements which Galler made to the parish facilities was the building of a parochial school to accommodate the large expansion of the German population moving into the neighborhood after the General Slocum disaster of 1904.

[4] At the front of the main aisle, just before the sanctuary, there is a floor mosaic depicting the personal crest of Pope Benedict XVI, who visited St. Joseph's on April 18, 2008,[4] and donated a chalice and paten to the church.

[6] St. Joseph’s School has served German, Irish, Italian, and more recently Hispanic, African-American, and Asian children;[3] it has an enrollment of about 350 students.

In 2018, excavation for a new sports facility for Spence School uncovered the 1898 facade of the neo-classical brick and limestone hall designed by A.F.A.