Church of St. Mary the Virgin

Erecting this building at the new location was a challenge to the architectural firm of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, with Pierre LeBrun as the lead designer, because of its size and the location. The LeBrun firm had experience working with steel framing, which is buried within the walls, making it the first church in the world built on a concealed steel skeleton, redefining the conventional methods of church construction. The facade of the church is clad in limestone,while the other buildings in the complex are brick-faced.

The main attraction in this church is the well-preserved Gothic architecture—with vaulting columns ideal for its famous booming organ pipes—along with the splashes of blue and gold added during a ’90s redecoration. The church has been called one of the finest Gothic-inspired designs of New York's late 19th century.

This church is part of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.  It was founded in 1868 at itsorigial site on West 45th St.  Later a new church was built for the New York City neighborhood of Longacre Square, now called Times Square. Known for its heavy of use of incense, the church is sometimes called Smoky Mary’s.