Sep 4, 2015 2 min read 590 6th Street

Sisters Of Notre Dame Convent Quietly Closes, And Neighborhood History Fades Away

The Sisters of Notre Dame Convent has closed — The brownstone which housed the Sisters of Notre Dame Convent. (Photo courtesy of Christine Bove)

Maybe you regularly walk by the building on the way to Prospect Park. But are you aware of all the history you were passing by?

The last nuns to live in the Sisters of Notre Dame Convent quietly moved out on Monday, August 17. Located at 590 6th Street (between 8th Avenue and Prospect Park West), the convent existed inside a quiet brownstone that did not have any special markings. It was where the sisters lived their lives for over a century.

“There just wasn’t a lot of fanfare,” said Christine Bove, director of development next door at Saint Saviour High School (588 6th Street). “It was bittersweet to see it close. So many of us have special memories from there.”

The nuns who lived there served as educators at Saint Saviour High School. “My dad was born and raised here and was educated by the nuns,” Bove told us. “And I had the same education. They were a big part of growing up for both of us and so many others in the community.”

At the end of the 2014-2015 academic year, Sister Valeria Belanger retired as principal of Saint Saviour High School, where she had been leading the community since 1995. An educator for 50 years, Sister Valeria began her time at the convent when there were a lot more nuns living in the building.

“The interior is huge,” Bove said. “It’s hard to see how much there is when you are walking by. But at one time, there were about 50 nuns who lived in the convent.”

Stained glass from the interior of the convent — Stained glass from an interior room of the convent. (Photo courtesy of Christine Bove)

The convent also hosted educational tools that spoke to a progressive approach to education — often quite ahead of its time.

“The women who lived here were role models to young girls,” explained Bove. “They had access to new technology. The convent even housed a computer in the 1970s.”

So why did the convent close now?

“There just weren’t a lot of nuns left to live here,” Bove said.

Both Saint Saviour High School and Saint Saviour Catholic Academy (701 8th Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets) continue on, owing a tremendous amount to the nuns who lived on 6th Street for so many years.