The Shrine Church of Our Lady of Solace

A PARISH MINISTRY OF THE VOCATIONIST FATHERS

2866 West 17th Street

Brooklyn, New York 11224

Phone: (718) 266-1612

FAX: (718) 946-3651

REV.  ARMANDO M. PALMIERI, S. D. V., Pastor

REV.  SHIJU CHITTATTUKARA, S. D. V. , Associate Pastor

The Original

Church Tower

(1925-1989)

185 feet in total height

(Brooklyn Public Library Collection)

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In 1914, the Gargiulo family owned a produce market as well as its restaurant as seen in this sponsorship page from the parish journal.

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It’s 1984  and The Chop Sticks  on Ocean Avenue is long gone. In 1965, Gargiulo’s  had been acquired by the Russo family who have taken the legendary restaurant and catering facility to great new heights as a true cathedral of the best in fine Italian cuisine and warm family hospitality.

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Many thanks to Mary McClelland for submitting this remarkable historical find. It is a 1912 Baptismal certification of her grandfather’s baptism at Our Lady of Solace by Dr. Brophy (the founder and pastor).   It states, “This is to certify that William Brown was born  Oct. 22, 1 904 - baptized Aug. 2, 1905.…Baptized by Dr. Brophy.”  

Historic Images of Our Lady of Solace

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Father Walter Kerwin, pastor of St. Sebastian's in Woodside, Queens, was appointed the new pastor upon the passing of Father Brophy. The convent, original rectory, school and current church were built from 1917-25 during Fr. Kerwin’s tenure. The photograph iwas taken from  the 1914 parish journal.

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Father Thomas Sala, Assistant Pastor.  The photograph was taken from the 1914 parish journal.

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Father Francis A. Froelich. Pastor.  Photographed in 1940.

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Processions  in 1914.  The image at the left is at the corner of Mermaid and Stillwell Avenues when streetcars and elevated lines converged at surface terminals on Stillwell Avenue and at West 8th Street before the 1918 BMT elevated terminal was constructed.  To the right is a procession proceeding down Mermaid Avenue.

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Above are excerpts from the 1949 Dinner Dance Program welcoming incoming pastor Father Merritt Yaeger.  It was held at The Chop Sticks Restaurant on Ocean Avenue (no relation to today’s Golden Chop Sticks also on Ocean Avenue).  The Shrine Statue on the second page looks a bit different from today (the figures were not yet crowned; they were added during the 1960’s).   The Shrine Statue altar was also located at this time where the St. Joseph altar now stands.  Their positions were reversed during the 1980s and the rear draperies removed.

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In 1945, the processional statue of Our Lady of Solace had been stolen as a prank.  Thirty years later, it was found in the basement of an abandoned clubhouse. (The old clubhouse burned to the ground three weeks later.) The pastor in 1975 was Father Daniel O’Connell. During the 1980s, it was replaced outdoors by the Our Lady of Divine Providence statue and moved to the school lobby. Today, it resides in the former convent chapel.

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The Golden Jubilee Journal.  The church building was also celebrating its silver anniversary but, strangely, the  journal made no mention of the fact. The Peter C. La Bella Funeral Home is still at the same address today. The church was photographed from the third floor of a building directly across the street that has since been replaced by a delicatessen and health clinic. Note the original rectory  at the west end of the church that is now the site of the main parking lot.

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From the 1972 monthly publication The Church Bulletin, one a staple in every parish.  The cover (not seen in the full-size image) shows  the church with the tower at is original height. The original rectory has been torn down and replaced with the current rectory on West 17th Street.  

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From the mid-1950’s, here is Our Lady of Solace School on West 19th Street.  Although shuttered in 2003 and now leased by the City of New York’s Department of Education as Liberation High School, it still evokes many, many beloved memories for its alumni as well as longtime residents of Coney Island. Note the continuation of the iron fence and the trees to right of the building indicating the presence of the “Mount Carmel” hill and the massive original rectory. Today, that section has been replaced by a tall chain link fence, and the hill and the old rectory by the main parking lot.

Continue on to the Two Churches.