Guide to the Labor Temple (New York, N.Y.) Records

Descriptive Summary

Title

Labor Temple (New York, N.Y.) Records

Inclusive Dates

1908-1966

Bulk Dates

1938-1940

Call Number

RG 14

Creator(s)

Labor Temple (New York, N.Y.)

Quantity

3.00 cubic feet

Restrictions on Access

Collection open for research

Digital Content

To browse this collection's digital content visit Pearl.

Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not be available on Pearl or in their entirety.

Repository

Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 USA

Biographical Note / Administrative History

Administrative History

In April 1910, a plan to start "a center of aggressive religious work among the working-men of New York City, under the name of Labor Temple" was read in the meeting of the Home Missions Committee of the Presbytery of New York. The Reverend Charles Stelzle of the Board of Home Missions had drawn up the plan, hoping to establish a common ground where working men and churchmen could meet as equals, to show working men the interest the church felt in their welfare, and to foster mutual understanding and cooperation between labor and the Church. Stelzle's idea was to use an empty church at the corner of 14th Street and Second Avenue, to gather there all workers and churchmen who wished to meet, and to hold open fora, lecture series and classes dealing with social issues. Though care would be taken to express the Christian viewpoint, Stelzle wanted Labor Temple to be a place in which all ideas could be heard. The Presbytery of New York approved the plan, and Stelzle was appointed the director of Labor Temple.

At first there was no formal church organization. In 1915, after petitioning by the men and women who came to the Temple, the American International Church (Presbyterian) was organized. Will Durant directed the Labor Temple School, which was formed early in the Temple's history and continued through the 1930s.

In 1943, the Board of National Missions' Unit of City and Industrial Work took over the responsibility for running Labor Temple. The Rev. Lawrence Hosie was appointed director. The Temple continued in its role as a community center, a meeting place for striking worker's unions, a club for children and adults, and a source of relief for the indigent.

Collection Overview

The bulk of Record Group 14 dates from 1938-1940, comprising minutes, correspondence, reports and financial records. There is a section of material from the late 1950s and a few items from the Temple's beginnings. The collection is arranged chronologically.

Alternative Formats

To browse this collection's digitized content visit Pearl.

Materials marked "Digital" in the Collection Inventory may not have been digitized in their entirety.

Administrative Information

Processing Information

Record Group 301.7 contains some early correspondence, reports and historical material on Labor Temple in its Series 2, records of the Department of City, Immigrant and Industrial Work.

A collection of Labor Temple records dating from 1900-1913 is available on microfilm.

Catalog Headings

The following headings have been used to index the description of this collection in the society’s electronic catalog.

Personal Name Subject

Stelzle, Charles, 1869-1941.

Durant, Will, 1885-1981.

Corporate Subject

Labor Temple (New York, N.Y.) Archives.

Topical Subject

Missions Industrial work New York, N.Y.

Church work with the working class New York, N.Y.

Corporate Added Name

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Presbytery of New York.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Board of Home Missions.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Unit of City and Industrial Work.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description	Alternative Formats

1	1	Finding Aid to Record Group 14
	2	"Correspondence Relative to the Conduct of the Labor Temple" (A pamphlet)
	3	A Study and Recommendation, including a survey of Labor Temple, 1940
	4	Policy--General Outline of the Work and Organization of the Labor Temple	Digital
	5	Articles and Newspaper Clippings
	6	Historical Background--Proposals, Minutes & Financial Reports, 1908-19
	7	Correspondence, 1920-30
	8	Correspondence and Financial Reports, 1931-35
	9	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, 1936-37
	10	Correspondence, September, 1937
	11	Correspondence and Minutes, October, 1937
	12	Correspondence, November, 1937
	13	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, December 1937
	14	Correspondence and Financial Reports, January 1938
	15	Correspondence and Financial Reports, February 1938
	16	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, March 1938
	17	Correspondence, April, 1938
	18	Correspondence, Financial Reports, Minutes, May-June 1938
	19	Correspondence, July-August 1938
	20	Correspondence, September 1938
	21	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, October 1938

2	1	Correspondence and Minutes, November 1938
	2	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, December 1938
	3	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, January 1939
	4	Correspondence and Financial Reports, February 1939
	5	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, March 1939
	6	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, April 1939
	7	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, May-June 1939
	8	Correspondence, July-August 1939
	9	Correspondence, September 1939
	10	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, October 1939
	11	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, November 1939
	12	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, December 1939

3	1	Correspondence and Minutes, January 1940
	2	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, February 1940
	3	Correspondence and Minutes, March 1940
	4	Correspondence and Minutes, April 1940
	5	Correspondence, May 1940
	6	Correspondence and Financial Reports, June-Dec 1940
	7	Correspondence and Financial Reports, 1941
	8	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, Jan- April 1942

3	9	Correspondence and Financial Reports, May-Dec 1942
	10	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, 1943-49
	11	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, 1950-56
	12-13	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes, 1957
	14	Correspondence, Financial Reports and Minutes; English Classes, 1958-66
	15	Miscellaneous; Undated correspondence
	16	Confidential Report--Broome St. Tabernacle, 2nd Spanish Evangelical Church and Labor Temple, 1957
	17	East End Temple
	18	Executive Committee Meetings, 1952-55

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Guide to the Labor Temple (New York, N.Y.) Records

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