The St. Joseph's Church that is the subject of this article is the second church to hold this name in Albany. The first was an earlier Roman Catholic church that was the third Catholic church built in the city and the first built north of Downtown Albany.[a][1][failed verification] St. Joseph's Church was built on Ten Broeck Street between First Street and Second Street. The site of the church was purchased for $45,000. Patrick Keely, who had also designed the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, was the architect. Ground was broken in 1855, the cornerstone was laid in 1856, and St. Joseph's Church was completed in 1860 at a cost of approximately $250,000. In attendance at the dedication were all the bishops in the ecclesiastical Province of New York, including the Bishop of Albany and the Archbishop of New York, the Bishop of Boston, and the Bishop of Newfoundland. In 1876, the church congregation incorporated.[1][failed verification]

Due to parish financial needs, St. Joseph's Church was sold to Marine Colonel Bronislaus A. Gill in 1981.[2] In his book O Albany!: Improbable City of Political Wizards, Fearless Ethnics, Spectacular Aristocrats, Splendid Nobodies, and Underrated Scoundrels (1983), author William Kennedy stated that Gill gave The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York the option to buy back the property at the same price for which he purchased it. Gill also allowed the Diocese to continue to use St. Joseph's Church; however, as of 1983, the church was not in use and Mass was being held in the rectory basement. Kennedy asserted that St. Joseph's Church had an "uncertain future" and added that the "magnificent church" had become a "white elephant".[3]

In 1985, the Black Apostolate of the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese was formed to encourage African-American former Catholics to return to the Catholic Church through worship that was aimed at African-American cultural traditions. The Black Apostolate's regular Mass was originally held at St. Joseph's Church.[4] The Vietnamese Apostolate also called St. Joseph's Church home in the 1990s.[5] In 1987, the church was the site of some scenes filmed for the movie Ironweed starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep.[6]

In 1994, St. Joseph's Church canonically merged with Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in North Albany, and the St. Joseph's Church building ceased to be used.[5] By then, St. Joseph's Church needed up to $2 million worth of repairs to fix cracked stained-glass windows, a leaking roof, the building's foundation, and a rusted and collapsed iron fence.[2][dead link] The Albany Diocese bought St. Joseph's Church back from Colonel Gill in 1996 for $30,000. The Diocese then organized a committee composed of representatives from the church, the Ten Broeck Triangle Preservation League, Historic Albany Foundation, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Mayor Jerry Jennings, Albany County Executive Michael Breslin, and NYS Assemblyman John McEneny to figure out new uses for the building.[6] St. Joseph's Church continued to deteriorate from lack of use and maintenance and was included on the Historic Albany Foundations's Seven to Save list of endangered historical sites in 2000.[7] That year, St. Joseph's Church was sold for $1 to the Abate family, which owned a pair of night club/restaurants in Troy and a restaurant on Lark Street in Albany.[8] The sale to the Abate family faced opposition from Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings when it was discovered that the Abates' bar in Albany owed back city and school taxes. The Ten Broeck Triangle community also opposed the Abates' plans when it was discovered that they had applied for a zoning variance to allow for noon to 4:00 am operating hours for the banquet facility that they planned to open in the church building.[9]

St. Joseph's Church

 

St. Joseph's in 2021

 

Front view, 2018

 

Broken windows, 2018

 

Boarded-up side entrance, 2018

When the city determined that St. Joseph's Church was in imminent danger of collapse during the winter of 2001, the building was condemned. Emergency work was done to shore up the support columns and roof.[10] In January 2003, the city took the Abates to court to secure an emergency eminent domain order. Within a month, the city turned the property over to the Historic Albany Foundation, which had obtained a $300,000 matching grant from the state for continued work on the building.[11][12] In 2007, after St. Joseph's Church was made safe for public use, the Historic Albany Foundation and the city hosted Obsequi (a multi-media performance of dance and music) there.[13] Further art and musical performances continue to be hosted as fundraising events at the church.[14][15] An annual Restoration Funstival (also known as the Restoration Festival or Rest Fest), which showcased local music and art with the intention of bringing national attention to local bands, was held at the church.[16]

In May 2013, the Historic Albany Foundation announced that St. Joseph's Church would be returned to city ownership. HAF had reportedly spent more than $700,000 on the building.[17] There had been plans to convert the structure into a pub, but local opposition prevented those plans from going forward.[18] As of February 2019, St. Joseph's Church remains under city ownership.[19] The City of Albany placed the church for sale in February 2023.[20]

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