New York City: The Guide to Sacred Spaces and Peaceful Places (Spiritual Traveler) [Paperback]

Edward F. Bergman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2001 | Series: Spiritual Traveler

The Spiritual Traveler: New York City is a unique guidebook. It invites you to discover and explore a multitude of spiritual sites in all five boroughs where New Yorkers have sought peace and strength in the past and in the present. It covers all of the world's religions and spiritual movements, and is written for readers and seekers of every faith and none.

The Spiritual Traveler: New York City introduces hundreds of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, shrines, meetinghouses, and other sacred spaces, and the communities that join there to worship, to celebrate, and to serve. It describes landmarks that rank among America's finest works of architecture and contain treasures of spiritual art and history. It lists restful rural-style cemeteries, the city's oldest and tallest trees, parks, botanical gardens, and other peaceful places. It includes sites that commemorate historic events of spiritual significance, great sacrifices, or movements for human welfare: memorials to those who gave their lives helping others, homes of writers and artists of spiritual masterpieces, and locations where new initiatives in social service were launched.

The Spiritual Traveler: New York City reveals the stories behind these extraordinary spaces and places of spiritual power and truly takes you to the heart and soul of one of the world's great cities.

The many spiritual sites to be discovered include

· a pulpit made of wood from Jerusalem's Mount of Olives

· a turtle carved in rock serving Native American sacred ceremonies

· New York's largest image of Buddha

· colonial millstones used by both the city's first Protestant congregation and America's first Jewish congregation

· New York's oldest mosque

· the homes of Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Kahlil Gibran and Simone Weil

· the first tree given official City Landmark status

· the nation's oldest continuously-inhabited free African-American settlement

· America's first Hindu temple built according to ancient sacred texts

· New York's first Spanish-language Roman Catholic parish

· a slave burial ground near City Hall

· the only Chinese Scholar's Garden in the United States

· one of only three "Sanctuaries of the Virgin" in the Western hemisphere

· the congregation of the world's first female rabbi

· the oldest urban community garden in the country

· a Tibetan museum recommended by the Dalai Lama

· the world's first "Fragrance Garden" designed for the blind

· the spot where Quaker founder George Fox preached in 1672

· relics of the medieval Saint and Emperor Henry II

· the bell that announced the War of Independence

· the first Jewish congregation to broadcast a webcast of its service

· a sacred tower you can climb for one of New York's finest views

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Since the terrorist attack on the U.S., New York City has become the destination of many spiritual pilgrimages--what better companion for those on such a journey than The Spiritual Traveler: New York City, by Edward Bergman? Amongst the hundreds of impressive churches, synagogues, and cathedrals of New York--all of which Bergman writes about in generous detail--there lie hundreds of other significant spiritual sites. Without this guide, few tourists would know about a historic African burial ground at the corner of Duane and Elk Streets, which features a medallion bearing the words of Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise." Travelers may not know that a tear-shaped, 2.5-acre section of Central Park is named Strawberry Fields in honor of John Lennon's murder outside the nearby Dakota Apartments. Other attractions include the home of writer Kahlil Gibran, America's first Hindu temple, and the city's largest image of the Buddha.

Bergman also offers little-known facts about the religious buildings of New York, such as that the oldest one is the austere Friends Meeting House, built in 1694 on Northern Boulevard. Or that the Brotherhood Synagogue on Gramercy Park South was a place of refuge for slaves fleeing north. Those who yearn for stillness amidst the high-energy buzz of New York will find their own refuge in the many garden sanctuaries, such as Saint Luke in the Fields, on Hudson Street. The book includes an extensive index, glossary, and listing of relevant Web sites. --Gail Hudson

About the Author

Edward F. Bergman is chairman of geographic studies at Lehman College of the City University of New York. He has also taught at other universities around the world, and has lectured at many museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on topics ranging from New York City, to world geography, world history and art. His previous writings about New York include A Geography of the New York Metropolitan Region; Woodlawn Remembers: Cemetery of American History; and a number of articles in The Encyclopedia of New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: HiddenSpring (July 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587680033
• ISBN-13: 978-1587680038
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #810,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A travel, historical and architectural guide to NYC, September 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: New York City: The Guide to Sacred Spaces and Peaceful Places (Spiritual Traveler) (Paperback)

"The Spiritual Traveler New York City" is more than just a guide to a few churches in NYC. It includes wonderful historical and architectural information on all the great houses of worship in the 5 boroughs of NYC as well as hidden jewels and oases of peace and calm that have been the prized secrets of many New Yorkers for years. While there is detailed information about churches of all denominations, synagogues, mosques and Hindu and Buddhist temples, it is all presented in a way that people who are not familiar with a lot of technical terms can understand and explanations are always provided. It's also compact enough that it easily fits into a backpack or pocketbook. I think "The Spiritual Traveler New York City" is not only perfect for tourists that want to know a little bit more about the spiritual history of NYC and about some of it's well-known places of worship, but is also perfect for the person (even New Yorkers like me)who wants the inside scoop on where to find peace and tranquility in the sea of madness that is NYC!! For those of you who like this book and are planning a trip to England, "The Spiritual Traveler England Scotland and Wales" is also available and is another great travel guide.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Every Astute New Yorker or pilgrim, October 23, 2001

By 

Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New York City: The Guide to Sacred Spaces and Peaceful Places (Spiritual Traveler) (Paperback)

NYC has about 13 retreats, 471 Baptist, 403 Catholic, 437 Jewish, 391 Pentecostal, 163 Episcopalian, 60 Islamic and 1 Bahai religious centers (to name but a few). The book's author, Edward F. Bergman is chairman of geographic studies at CUNY's Lehman College. The book is the must read for astute New Yorkers and tourists. It is eminently enlightening about the city's history, its architecture and its religious progression. As Bergman writes, from the early 17th Century, the chief religion of the non-Native Americans of the New Netherlands was the (Dutch) Reformed Church of Protestants, which spawned the Collegiate system of churches (read it and you will discover why they are called Collegiate Churches). As new settlers arrived, and New Amsterdam became British, new churches were established, persecuted, tolerated, and then in most cases, accepted. In the first chapter, Bergman includes brief histories for the major NYC religions, including Quaker, Adventist, and Sikh. In the second chapter, he discusses the architectural elements found in houses of worship and their origins. The styles explained include that of the basilica, cruciform with transepts, Gothic nave, Greek cross, and narthexporch, as well as those of Wren-Gibbs, Georgian, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, High Victorian Gothic, Gothic, Romanesque Revival, and Renaissance Revival. He explains why some Protestant churches did away with their stained glass windows. The reader will also learn about the mihrab of a mosque, the Sikh gurdwara, and the Hindu rajagopuram, and along the way learn about religious history and the lives of saints and other clerics. In Chapters 3 through 9, Bergman describes the houses of worship by neighborhood. In Chapter 3, for example, the buildings of Downtown Manhattan are discussed. For each worship location, the address and architect are listed. For Trinity Church there are four pages of history; the African Burial Ground is discussed in three, as is the Eldridge Street Synagogue. Did you know that you can find the largest Buddha in the area at Mahayara, that the Sung Tak Buddhist Temple was formerly a Kalwarie shul, The Middle Reformed Coll. Church has its own Liberty Bell dating to 1729, or that the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol (1885) was the seat of NYC's short-lived Chief Rabbi in 1899? The book answers why the German Catholic Church of the Most Holy Redeemer is built so high, and why J.P Morgan supported St George's Episcopal Church to the extent he did. Every few pages there is a shaded section that explains a topic, such as "the Greek Temple style in NYC"; "The Influence of the Reverend George Whitefield in the early 18th Century"; "the Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin and his noospere"; "The Draft Riot of 1863"; "Fulton Sheen and his ratings war with Milton Berle"; and "Churches and Multipurpose Buildings." Bergman also includes an "Around the Corner" paragraph after several listings to point out other attractions, like the harrowing offshore Merchant Marine Sculpture in Battery Park. Jewish readers will especially be fascinated by the histories, designs, and evolutions of the Manhattan synagogues. The book closes with a glossary, bibliography, large index, and list of websites.

5.0 out of 5 stars splendid read, September 16, 2009

By 

Stephen W. Hartwell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New York City: The Guide to Sacred Spaces and Peaceful Places (Spiritual Traveler) (Paperback)

This is a great read for those who are interested in the religious buildings of

New York! Full of historical facts and little known tidbits as well as detailed

information on what to look for in each building. Very easy to read and just enough

information to keep the interest up and perhaps whet the appetite to do your own

exploring to see what else you can uncover. A treat