St. James Church (Queens)

St. James Church
Old St. James Church
Seen in July 2020
Religion
Affiliation	Episcopal Church
Ownership	Episcopal Diocese of Long Island
Status	Used as community center only
Location
Location	86-02 Broadway, Elmhurst, Queens
State	New York
Country	United States
Geographic coordinates	40°44′18″N 73°52′40″W / 40.73833°N 73.87778°W / 40.73833; -73.87778
Architecture
Architect(s)	James Moore
Style	Colonial, Post-medieval English
Date established	1704
Groundbreaking	1735
Completed	1736
Specifications
Direction of façade	East
Length	58 feet (18 m) (main structure) 25 feet (7.6 m) (annex)
Width	30 feet (9.1 m) (main structure) 15 feet (4.6 m) (annex)
Materials	Wood
St. James Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New York City Landmark No. 2593
Location	86-02 Broadway, Elmhurst, New York
Coordinates	40°44′18″N 73°52′40″W / 40.73833°N 73.87778°W / 40.73833; -73.87778
Area	less than one acre
Built	1735–1736
Architect	Moore, James, of Newton
Architectural style	Colonial, Post-medieval English
NRHP reference No.	99001331[1]
NYCL No.	2593
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 12, 1999
Designated NYCL	September 19, 2017

St. James Church (also known as Church of England in America, Mission Church at Newtown, St. James Protestant Episcopal Church, Parish Hall, and Community Hall) is a historic Episcopal church building at 86-02 Broadway in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens in New York City. It is the city's oldest surviving Anglican building and Church of England mission church. It is also alternatively called the Old St. James Church to distinguish it from the St. James Episcopal Church two blocks away.

Ever since Elmhurst was established in 1652 as the town of Middleburgh (later Newtown), it had been religiously diverse, although the Church of England became the Province of New York's official religion in 1693. The Mission Church at Newtowne was founded in 1704 as a mission of a parish based in Jamaica, Queens. The parish built its Newtown structure in 1735–1736 and became separate in 1761. The congregation used the building until a new church was built nearby in 1848, whereupon the old structure became a parish building. The church was extensively repaired and expanded several times in the 18th and 19th centuries, including a major expansion in 1883. The old church building was used as a parish hall and Sunday school until 1941 when a new parish hall was built behind the newer St. James Episcopal Church. Since then, it has been used by several community groups, and was restored in 2004.

St. James Church is designed in the English Colonial style and consists of the original main section and a rear section built in 1883. The interior features extensive carving and other decorative woodwork features. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the church as a city landmark in 2017.