Our Buildings: 266 Cumberland Street

What makes a neighborhood? People, pets and the stories that make up our days. But we also have our buildings, the places where we work, play, eat, sleep, learn and live. Throughout Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, you will find everything from colonial brownstones to housing projects to luxury apartments: buildings that have been here since the earliest days of this country. Have a building you think we should highlight? Let us know in the comments or email us at TheNabe@TheNabe.me.

Nestled between a modern condominium and a classic brick rowhouse is 266 Cumberland Street. Also known as “The Sanctuary” by some locals, this neo-gothic church housed several different congregations throughout it’s history. Curiously, there is some dispute as to the building’s origins. A 1978 report on the Fort Greene Historic District by the Landmarks Preservation Commission notes that there is a discrepancy in the earliest records of the site. According to official records, the land was purchased in 1895 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity of Brooklyn, with no mention of a standing structure. However, an article published by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on April 26, 1897 states that the church was bought intact by the Lutheran Church, which spent the next few years remodeling it.

In the early 20th century 266 Cumberland changed hands several times, first being sold to a German Lutheran congregation in 1915. Only four years later, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn acquired the church. In 2008, the building was renovated and turned into condos.

266 Cumberland provides a glimpse into Fort Greene’s history: Tucked away between the old and the new, with a rich history just beneath the surface. Did you or anyone you know ever attend services here? Tell us your story in the comments.