Scope and Contents

The collection includes records of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery from its earliest days at the end of the 18th century and into the early 21st century. The collection is particularly rich in two respects: with administrative and financial records for the 19th century and early 20th century, and with records related to the renovation and restoration of the church building and grounds and of the rectory in the last decades of the 20th century.

The collection holds a complete run of the vestry minute books from 1799 to 1937; extensive financial records through the 19th century and into the 1910s, including the treasurer account books for 1860-1907; and other 19th century records, including pew rentals, property leases, some correspondence, and other matters.

The collection holds relatively few records from the mid-20th century, especially so for the late-1940s and into the late 1960s. The largest part of the collection, however, ranges from the late 1960s and to 2019, and centers on the church and rectory restoration projects, both those preceding and subsequent to the devastating fires of 1978 (the church) and 1988 (the rectory). These records concern the Preservation Youth Project (PYP), which performed much of the restoration work; the fundraising for the PYP and the restoration projects; management of the St. Mark's Historic Landmark Fund, which was formed in 1979 in part as a vehicle for managing the restoration funds; and the repurposing and management of the restored rectory, opening as the Neighborhood Preservation Center (NPC) in 1999. These records include financial information (budgets, grant proposals, progress reports, account statements, etc.); project concept and planning documents; supplier/contractor estimates and proposals; Landmark Fund and NPC management records (Fund trustee minutes, NPC advisory committee minutes); photographs (of the PYP at work, the fire-damaged buildings, events, etc.); publicity, solicitation materials, and historical surveys; and more.